Threat of Credit Downgrade Persists for Morgan Stanley
A credit rating downgrade could hurt the bank's huge derivatives business, forcing the group to come up with billions of extra dollars.
View ArticleProgress Is Seen in Advancing a Final Volcker Rule
Regulators are moving apace on the regulation, despite lobbyists’ efforts to delay it.
View ArticleIn Blocking Activists, the Fed Protects Poorly Performing Banks
In recent matters involving struggling banks, the Federal Reserve has sought to limit the ability of shareholder activists to nominate directors, which some investors view as an instrument of good...
View ArticleFor Elliott Management’s Singer, Success Lies in Humility
Paul Singer, the founder of the $20 billion hedge fund Elliott Management, says growing complacent can lead to "absolute death."
View ArticleFed Wants U.S. Banks to Adhere to Stiffer International Rules
The rules, known as Basel III, are intended to ensure that banks can survive financial shocks like the crisis in 2008, mostly by requiring them to raise more capital.
View ArticleAfter Barclays Scandal, Regulators Say Rates Remain Flawed
In Congressional testimony, the chairman of the Federal Reserve and the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission expressed concern that big banks manipulated certain interest rates for their...
View ArticleLibor Scandal Shows Many Flaws in Rate-Setting
The lending benchmark, a convenient tool for the markets, has flaws that have some people even questioning its existence.
View ArticleOne Rule Regulators Are Rounding On
Is a new requirement that banks need to have a stockpile of cash and high-quality, easy-to-sell assets to meet withdrawals in the event of a market panic making it harder for banks to fund themselves?
View ArticleFor Wall Street, Real Pain When the Fed Fails to Act
A lack of new stimulus moves by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank this week may have a direct and painful impact on the chief source of revenue at investment banks on both sides of the...
View ArticleAccusations Against Bank on Iran Deals Surprised U.S. Regulators, Too
Some federal authorities believe that the amount of money involved is a fraction of what is cited in New York State’s claims against Standard Chartered.
View ArticleRegulatory SWAT Team May Have to Move Slowly on Money Funds
Does the Financial Stability Oversight Council have the resolve to go down untrodden paths and officially designate money funds as a risk, especially in the few months before the presidential election?
View ArticlePresidential Policy vs. Fed Policy on Jobs
Who actually has the most power to create jobs today – the president, or the Fed chairman? The answer to that question tells us whether we now live in the age of democracy, or the age of the central bank.
View ArticlePlot Twist in the A.I.G. Bailout: It Actually Worked
As distasteful as the effort was, it should be clear by now that the rescue of the American International Group — often called a backdoor bailout of Wall Street — was a success.
View ArticleHow Much Does the Fed’s Plan Really Help Main Street?
In theory, the Fed's latest bond purchases should drive down borrowing costs for companies and consumers, making them more likely to take out loans to buy goods and services and thus stimulate the...
View ArticleAn Enigma in the Mortgage Market That Elevates Rates
A 30-year mortgage with a 2.8 percent interest rate could already exist, but something in the banking system is holding it back. And right now, few agree on what that “something” is.
View Article
