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Politicians
Latest Headlines
Latest Headlines
Meredith Whitney on the next economic threat
Bank analyst Meredith Whitney has come out with a 600-page report that details another looming economic crisis: the precarious status of state and local finances.
"What Whitney found reminds her of the poor disclosure and arcane accounting rules that hid the fragile condition of the banks and
Volcker Rule still allows principal investments
The run up to the passage of Dodd-Frank was heavy with talk of the Volcker Rule. I think most people assumed that principal investments were covered. But the conventional wisdom now is that principal investments are not included in the rule that was meant to ban banks from risky bets with thei
Louisiana foreclosure trial leads to more bad press for Citi
We noted recently how the foreclosure fiasco was ready made for the media and politicians. Great video, great sounds bites, great pictures, great human drama, exactly what drives journalists. You should assume that every media outlet in the country is working on a story that features a foreclosure
Wall Street: The campaign issue
Tip to would be politicians: Don't run for office if your resume lists a lot of Wall Street experience. The political pollsters have apparently uncovered that Wall Street is held in poor esteem by citizens right now. Why else would they encourage candidates to make an issue of their opponents' tie
Dodd-Frank bill to become law, so what?
The Dodd-Frank bill, like all major pieces of legislation, is tailor made for politicians. The rhetoric rains down like ticker-tape, from supporters and detractors alike. Some might call this the "toughest restrictions on the financial industry since the Great Depression," as the Washington Po
The revolving door and the hedge fund industry
While the hedge fund industry ( hedge fund news) has fared well in the on-going effort to reform the financial services industry, it remains a target for regulators and politicians. We'll likely see more attempts to tax carried interest as ordinary income at some point.
Understandably, the
Looming crisis at public pensions
When it comes to private pensions, social security and Medicare, we're accustomed to hearing about future doom-and-gloom-problems that executives and politicians today are too wimpy to do anything about (medical care may be a slight exception). When it comes to public pensions, the story is much t
Local politics and Bank of America
Bank of America ( BAC ) and other banks are not exactly populist favorites right now. This was evident in the controversy that has cropped up around former Senator Dan Coats. He has announced his intention to once again run in Indiana. Coats' campaign has already been forced to refute criticism
Britain's one-time tax on bonuses
Kenneth Feinberg has proven to be a thorn in the side of top Wall Street firms, the TARP babies anyway. The Fed's pay rules are also a pain. And firms are gearing up for more PR angst as they dole out big bonuses for 2009. But for a direct attack on bank bonuses, check out Britain, where the gover
Banks boost small business credit via cards
Here's one way banks are boosting credit to small companies: JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) last month unveiled an new suite of credit cards called Ink for small businesses--with interest rates as high as 30 percent, according to CNNMoney . At the same time, the bank has cut other small business lend
