Back in this country, President Bush has named conservative California Congressmember Christopher Cox to run the Securities and Exchange Commission. His appointment is considered a great victory for big corporations who have donated tens of thousands of dollars to Cox over the years. Cox replaces William Donaldson, who disappointed many Republicans for showing some independence, often siding with Democrats. That is highly unlikely with Cox, who describes himself as a devoted student of Ayn Rand, a major promoter of unfettered capitalism. Cox has a long record in the House of promoting big business. He is a major recipient of contributions from business groups, the accounting profession and Silicon Valley, he has fought against accounting rules that would give less favorable treatment to corporate mergers and executive stock options. He opposes taxes on dividends and capital gains. And he helped to steer through the House a bill making investor lawsuits more difficult. That measure, which Congress adopted over President Bill Clinton’s veto, was hailed by business groups. Consumer groups say it helped create the climate that fostered the big accounting scandals at companies like Enron and WorldCom.