This week, the government took a big first step toward shutting down the Can't Lose Room in the Wall Street Casino. It's now one comment period away from enacting the Volcker Rule, which limits the kinds of risky investments banks can make with money insured by the U.S. taxpayer.
Paul Volcker, chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board for President Barack Obama, is set to step down from the position next month. As a key adviser to the president, Volcker has advocated for tougher financial regulations and counseled the government on fiscal policy.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has filed a civil lawsuit against Ernst & Young, alleging that the accounting giant helped now-defunct investment bank Lehman Brothers hide billions of dollars in debt from its investors via loans disguised as sales.
Though most Americans wish that Congress would rein in excessive pay on Wall Street, that won't happen while the huge campaign contributions keep flowing. And the financial industry's big money shell game drains away something more precious from our society than money -- it siphons off talent.
The central bank says the disclosures cover more than 21,000 individual transactions done to "restore the flow of credit to American families and businesses, and support economic recovery and job creation in the aftermath of the crisis." It also says no money has been lost so far.
The Federal Reserve has set a Jan. 7 deadline for the largest banks to prove they have the capital to withstand another financial crisis. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and 16 others will have to file so-called "stress test" documentation by then.
Since Lehman's collapse in September 2008, regulators around the world have begun erecting a scaffolding of new rules and regulations designed limit excessive risk-taking. The big question is: Are they enough to prevent another financial crisis?
The Obama administration acknowledged Tuesday that major changes must be made to the two mortgage giants being kept afloat thanks to taxpayer billions, but it sees continued government support. Is that a good idea?
The government today is often blamed for causing economic uncertainty, which some point to as the source of all the economy's woes. But there's a deeper issue in play than the fact that we have to guess what's coming next: The problem is the bias in our guesses.
During a speech Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pledged a speedy implementation of the financial system overhaul. One of the first tasks on the list? Simplifying all the paperwork.
The new financial reform law may have made it easier for the SEC to keep secrets from the public. The SEC is no longer required to disclose records or information about basic regulatory and oversight activities.
Winthrop Brown, a Washington lawyer who lobbies on behalf of financial services firms, says the new regulations should get "a pretty good grade" from Wall Street -- and from Main Street. But will they prevent another economic meltdown?
Bank of America, Citi and JPMorgan Chase beat earnings projections, despite a drop in investment banking and trading income. Results were buoyed by lower losses on loans and credit cards and resulting cuts in loan reserves.
The effects of the Dodd-Frank financial regulation reform bill will clearly be sweeping, even if not all quite predictable. At this early point, here's a rundown of some of the biggest likely winners from the now-passed legislation.
Congressional Democrats are aiming for a final vote on the financial reform bill soon, which they say will prevent future financial meltdowns like the one that plunged the economy into a devastating recession.