“First it was CDOs, then SPVs. Now the latest alphabet soup of financial products to come under scrutiny from regulators as potential threats to investor protection and economic stability are ETFs and ETPs – exchange-traded funds and similar products.” Read the full story at The Financial Times
“The world’s leading provider of exchange-traded funds has backed calls for tougher safeguards for the investment products to deflect the rising tide of regulatory concerns about the systemic risk posed by the fast-growing market.” Read the full story at The Financial Times
“Sometimes a number tells the story best. On Tuesday that number seemed to be eurozone bank credit default swaps, or CDS, which show the region’s financial system is closer to breakdown than at any time in recent years.” Read the full artcile at The Financial Times
“Britain has withdrawn its objections to a key piece of European Union financial regulation after winning a series of last-minute concessions over the rules for derivatives markets.” Read the full story at The Financial Times
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top two congressional Democrats on financial issues told regulators on Tuesday that new rules governing the $600 trillion derivatives markets could put U.S. companies at a disadvantage. Representative Barney Frank and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson wrote regulators that they should coordinate with regulators in other countries before moving forward […]
“The trend of rising commodity prices in recent years helped fuel a belief that is now common among financial advisers and pension managers: that ordinary investors should have some slice of their long-term money parked in commodities. But there’s a case against commodities, too: the human tendency to feed our appetites ever more efficiently, which […]
“Investors are increasingly scrutinizing the euro-zone assets held by German banks for fear the lenders might face big-write downs on their exposure to struggling Southern European countries such as Greece.” Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal
“Bank of New York Mellon Corp. was hit by a one-two legal punch that escalates a currency-trading crisis for one of the nation’s largest banks. The Justice Department and New York’s attorney general filed separate civil lawsuits alleging that the bank fraudulently charged clients for currency transactions.” Read the full article at the The Wall Street Journal […]
“The admission by top European officials that Greece’s fiscal distress is deepening has increased the chance that a July deal to give Athens more cash could be revised to exact a greater toll on its private-sector creditors.” Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal
“Over the past decade, the housing market has been a powerful engine: It helped the U.S. economy out of a recession and created jobs as construction firms took on workers and new homeowners hired contractors to decorate rooms and maintain the lawns, or purchased new furniture for indoors and outdoors. But today, as the sector […]
“Mark Adelson is known in the financial world as the rating industry’s bad cop. In the past three years, the chief credit officer of Standard & Poor’s has helped revamp the firm’s grading process after the industry’s giants were lambasted for assigning overly optimistic ratings to securities that cratered, exacerbating the 2008 financial crisis.” Read […]
The title of the lead-off panel on Monday at the Sefcon conference, a Wall Street gathering devoted to the relatively obscure world of the swap execution facility, asked a question that most people outside the financial industry would appreciate: “What is a S.E.F. and what is it good for?” The term S.E.F. did not even […]
“The Dodd-Frank Act means elements of Basel’s new trading book rules cannot be implemented in the US – although supervisors claim it will only be a temporary reprieve. A review of the rules has also been delayed.” Read the full story at Risk Magazine
Republicans have a problem. People are increasingly concerned about unemployment, but Republicans have nothing to offer them. The G.O.P. opposes additional government spending for jobs programs and, in fact, favors big cuts in spending that would be likely to lead to further layoffs at all levels of government. The New York Times
“The industry is preparing a full-on assault on a deal regulators see as the best way to prevent future financial meltdown – and the question is whether the accord will be left with enough teeth” Read the full story at The Financial Times
Asian regulators will not allow derivatives traders to escape tough regulation by shifting over the counter business to regional markets from the US and Europe, Singapore’s regulator said. Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said Asia Pacific financial centres such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia were fully committed to an […]
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission inspectors said a large credit rating firm “appeared to allow” for a pending rating decision to be disclosed to certain people before the action was publicly announced. The finding, issued in a report today, comes about a month after the agency began a review of whether Standard and Poor’s employees […]
Some large U.S. banks would have stronger capital bases to better deal with today’s market stresses had regulators not relaxed bailout repayment criteria in late 2009, a new government audit showed on Friday. Reuters
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Royal Bank of Scotland, Credit Suisse and other financial institutions for their handling of problem mortgage loans, according to public disclosures and people familiar with the matter. The Financial Times
LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) – The Basel Committee of global regulators has finalised disputed plans to force 28 of the world’s top banks to hold up to 2.5 percent in extra capital to bolster their ability to withstand any future global credit crunch. The additional surcharge, described as “anti-American” by JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie […]
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Commodity regulators continue to struggle with finalizing new rules to limit speculation on oil, coffee and other commodity markets, but another delayed vote and an early draft of the rules have lead some businesses such as gasoline retailers and airlines to worry the regulations will end up too weak to be effective. […]
As a draft of the Volcker rule has made the rounds in the last several weeks, it has alternatively caused fits of despair and cries of exultation. And that’s just among the proponents of the regulation. Then came news that the Swiss bank UBS lost $2.3 billion thanks to a rogue trader. Of course, it’s […]
Global regulators may largely stick to planned capital surcharges of up to 2.5 percent for the world’s biggest banks while adjusting how the levies are calculated, according to three people familiar with the talks. Bloomberg
Bank of America’s potential liability for bad mortgages — in the tens of billions of dollars — is well known. But Bank of America is haunted by other demons from the financial crisis, the most significant one being a lawsuit arising from its troubled Merrill Lynch acquisition. The New York Times
“According to a FT article last week, Lloyds’ bank has a target return on equity of 14.5 per cent. Banks like to argue that this is the level of return on equity they need to earn, in order to gain funding from the markets. Naturally, remuneration is linked to achieving such objectives. The question, however, […]
“For UBS chief Oswald Gruebel — and perhaps for UBS as it is currently constituted — it was more like the end of the road. The bank’s board had met in Singapore that afternoon to discuss the loss of $2.3 billion (1.48 billion pounds) by an alleged rogue trader in its London-based investment banking arm. […]
“When Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner crashed a gathering of European finance officials in Poland last week, his suggestions were generally ignored, and his very presence at the confab was mocked. Now, this wasn’t the first time an American venturing into Europe will be met with something other than open arms. (I frequently wonder if there […]
“Standard & Poor’s, the ratings agency, is under investigation for a complex mortgage security called Delphinus that was issued in 2007 just as the housing market began to collapse, according to a financial filing by the company’s parent, McGraw-Hill.” Read the full story at The New York Times
“Nearly a third of the nation’s cities are laying off workers this year. More than half have canceled or delayed infrastructure projects. And two out of five have raised their fees.” Read the full story at The New York Times
“Freddie Mac used a flawed analysis when it accepted $1.35 billion from Bank of America to settle claims that the bank misled it about loans purchased during the mortgage boom, according to an oversight report scheduled for release on Tuesday.” Read the full article at The New York Times
“When the unemployment rate rose in most states last month, it underscored the extent to which the deep recession, the anemic recovery and the lingering crisis of joblessness are beginning to reshape the nation’s economic map.” Read the full article at The New York Times
“A chancellor whose overriding concern is to save the single currency is facing one of her biggest tests yet.” Read the full story at The Financial Times
“US regulators have warned Standard & Poor’s that they may file civil charges against the credit rating firm, alleging that it violated federal securities laws in connection with its rating of one of the structured finance instruments that was at the heart of the financial crisis.” Read the full story at The Financial Times
“The business model of the Big Four accounting firms is under attack from the European Commission, which is pushing for tough rules that would force the firms to abandon their consultancy businesses and share audit work with smaller rivals.” Read the full story at The Financial Times
Regulators from around the world took to microphones all over Washington this weekend to deliver a blunt message to executives at the largest banks: stop whining, particularly about capital requirements. “If some institutions feel pressure today, it’s because they have done too little for too long rather than being asked to do too much too […]
“U.S. banks would have to change the way they compensate traders involved in market-making activities under one of the proposed restrictions of the so-called Volcker rule, according to a draft circulating among regulators.” Read the full story at Bloomberg
Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase launched a tirade at Mark Carney, Bank of Canada governor, in a closed-door meeting in front of more than two dozen bankers and finance officials, underscoring mounting tensions between bankers and officials over financial regulation. Read the full story here
International politicians and regulators urged the United Nations on Thursday to add a new item to its already packed agenda: speculative commodities trading. Leonel Fernandez, president of the Dominican Republic, will propose to the United Nations General Assembly this week a resolution that would limit large trading positions, among other regulatory measures. Mr. Fernandez, speaking […]
U.S. derivatives regulators may pull back from a January proposal setting speculation limits that CME Group Inc. (CME) said would reduce spot trading on the world’s largest futures exchange, according to a person briefed on the discussions. The proposal, issued under the Dodd-Frank Act by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, aimed to curb speculation by limiting the […]
By Dennis Kelleher and Mike Masters Gas prices are again surging past $4 per gallon. This is not just a problem of Americans paying more and a slowing economic recovery. Rising commodity prices are causing social unrest throughout the world — most recently, mass protests in China. There are no quick fixes, but reducing excessive […]
U.S. regulators, responding to concerns about their ability to keep pace with fast-evolving markets, are pushing forward with a plan to build a multibillion-dollar computer system to monitor stock trading in real time despite criticism from traders who could foot the bill. The Securities and Exchange Commission first proposed the system, called the consolidated audit […]
On the stump, words like “Obamacare” roll off the tongue. “Swap execution facility,” not so much. That has not stopped Republican presidential candidates from using the Dodd-Frank Act, the sprawling regulatory effort to address the causes of the financial crisis, as their newest anti-Obama target for what ails the economy. Read the full story at The […]
Michael Masters, chairman of Better Markets, speaks with the Voice of America on the role excessive speculation plays in rising food prices. Audio file
Michael Masters, chairman of Better Markets, appeared on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on April 12, 2011 to discuss the role excessive speculation in commodity markets. Watch video here
WASHINGTON—The Treasury Department could decide soon whether to exempt some foreign-exchange instruments from new rules governing derivatives, a call that has divided regulators and pit big banks and businesses against those who fear a loophole that could undermine efforts to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis. The Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul law enacted by Congress last […]
By VICTORIA MCGRANE And ANDREW ACKERMAN WASHINGTON—The Treasury Department proposed excluding certain foreign-exchange instruments from new rules governing derivatives, a decision hailed by business organizations but criticized by some advocacy groups as creating a regulatory loophole. Treasury officials said Friday that the instruments, known as foreign-exchange swaps and forwards, shouldn’t fall under the same […]
Farm ministers from the G20 group of leading and emerging economies wrapped up their first-ever meeting this week with a call for better regulation of the global commodity markets. French leaders in particular have blamed financial speculators for contributing to this year’s rise in food prices and the unrest they have triggered in the Middle […]
By Nancy Watzman May 31 2011 1:43 p.m. A newly created powerful federal financial council will have broad latitude to deny or delay Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests if it adopts proposed rules, charges a financial watchdog group. Under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, the new Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), is explicity made […]
(Reuters) – The White House is considering nominating Mark Wetjen, an aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, for a top job at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, The Financial Times reported on Friday. Democrat Michael Dunn’s term as a CFTC commissioner ends in June. The time is crucial because the CFTC is trying to […]
By DARREN GOODE | 6/1/11 5:38 AM EDT While Congress wrangles over high oil and gasoline prices, a potentially more important struggle is taking place two dozen blocks away in the domain of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Senate Democrats and other critics have increasingly targeted the five-member commission for missing a 180-day deadline for […]
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