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Derivatives

Derivatives Reform: 'Tricky Exceptions' Leave Market Unchecked: The Nation

thenation.com | William Greider | Posted 11.13.2009 | Business

Read More: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Economy, Derivatives, Barney Frank, Bank of America, Regulatory Reform, Obama Administration, Derivatives Trading, Financial Regulation, House Financial Services Committee, Citigroup, Transparency, Business News

The Obama administration promised to reform the financial system and make it safe for the rest of us, but recent Congressional action is more likely t...

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Ralph Cioffi: Off the Hook for a Long Time Pattern of Behavior

Janet Tavakoli | Posted 11.11.2009 | Books

Read More: Bear Stearns Asset Management, Ralph Cioffi, Bear Stearns, Collateralized Debt Obligations, Wall Street, Matthew Tannin, Derivatives, Books News
Janet Tavakoli

I worked at Bear Stearns in the late 1980s and remembered amiable newcomer Ralph Cioffi -- just acquitted -- to be Bear Stearns' most talented and successful salesman of mortgage-backed securities.

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How Credit Raters Fended Off Oversight From Congress And The SEC

Huffington Post Investigative Fund | Ben Protess and Lagan Sebert | Posted 11.11.2009 | Business

Read More: Christopher Dodd, Paul Kanjorski, Chuck Shumer, Securities and Exchange Commission, Charles Schumer, Regulatory Reform, Derivatives, Floyd Abrams, Financial Crisis, Credit Rating Agencies, Sec, Chris Dodd, Huffington Posts Investigative Fund, Business News

Editor's Note: This is the second of three articles by the Investigative Fund on the credit rating companies. Read the first article here. When the n...

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Ryan Grim

Wall Street Banks Tricking Little Guys Into Lobbying for Them

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan Grim | Posted 11.13.2009 | Business

Read More: Senate, Lobbying, Derivatives, Banks, Lobbyblog, Derivatives Legislation, Chris Dodd, Wall Street, Transparency, Business News

Wall Street titans, recognizing that they have something of a credibility problem when it comes to opposing regulatory reform, are enlisting more symp...

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Shahien Nasiripour

Derivatives Just "A Sophisticated Form Of Gambling," U.S. Senators Say; Propose Bill Allowing State Gambling Laws To Apply

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 11.10.2009 | Business

Read More: Ron Wyden, Cftc, Financial Reform, Regulatory Reform, Derivatives, Maria Cantwell, Derivatives Regulation, Preemption, Bernie Sanders, Financial Regulation, Gambling, Financial Crisis, Gary Gensler, Business News

In describing the complex and little-understood world of derivatives trading as "a sophisticated form of gambling," three U.S. Senators proposed legis...

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Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein: "I'm Doing God's Work."

Times Online | John Arlidge | Posted 11.07.2009 | Business

Read More: Timothy Geithner, Goldman Sachs, Economy, Derivatives, Bailouts, Black Pools, Regulation, Credit Default Swaps, George Bush, Lloyd Blankfein, Policy, Goldman, London, Tim Geithner, Recession, Mortgage Crisis, Ben Bernanke, Henry Paulson, The City, Bailout, Barack Obama, Predatory Lending, Blankfein, Banks, Hank Paulson, Bonuses, Wall Street, Executive Pay, Business News

Goldman's reputation is suddenly as toxic as the credit default swaps and other inexplicably exotic financial instruments it used to buy with glee. Th...

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Banks Hire Derivatives Expert To Fight Financial Reform

The Huffington Post | Jenna Staul | Posted 11.06.2009 | Business

Read More: Financial Meltdown, Lobbying, Derivatives, Lobbyblog, Banking Industry, Financial Regulatory Overhaul, Edward Rosen, Business News

Several major banks are fending off legislation meant to regulate the lucrative derivatives market by hiring a high-powered financial lobbyist. The H...

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Will We Ignore Brooksley Born Again?

Katherine Spillar | Posted 11.03.2009 | Business

Read More: Financial Crisis, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Feminism, Brooksley Born, Derivatives, Msmagazine, Business News
Katherine Spillar

Will the U.S. Congress listen to the echoes of Brooksley Born's voice when they tackle forthcoming legislation to better regulate the over-the-counter derivatives market?

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Shahien Nasiripour

New "Too Big To Fail" Bill Gives Feds Power To Freeze Derivatives Contracts

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 11.03.2009 | Business

Read More: Fdic, Derivatives, Barney Frank, Too Big to Fail, Aig, Credit Default Swaps, Michael Krimminger, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Tbtf, Lehman Brothers, Isda, Financial Crisis, Systemic Risk Regulator, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy, Systemic Risk, Business News

The "Too Big To Fail" legislation currently being debated by a House committee has been widely criticized as toothless. But one provision gives the fe...

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The Secrets To Goldman Sachs' Success: Contrary Bets, Predatory Lending, Government Connections, Offshore Tax Havens

McClatchy | Greg Gordon | Posted 11.01.2009 | Business

Read More: Foreclosures, Paulson, Regulation, Recession, Obama, Reform, Lloyd Blankfein, Mortgage Related Swaps, Mortgages, Goldman Sachs, Aig, Mississippi, Bailout, Predatory Lending, Securities Act of 1933, Blankfein, Hank Paulson, Foreclosure, Housing Crisis, Goldman Sachs Mortgage, Real Estate, Wall Street, Tax Havens, Housing Market, Blue Chips, Calpers, Derivatives, Moody's, Offshore, Tim Geithner, High Yield Bonds, Hedges, Barack Obama, Nyse, Cayman Islands, Banks, Sec, Subprime Mortgage, Economy, Business News

WASHINGTON -- In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but n...

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An Object Lesson In Governmental Failure: Derivatives Reform

Harpers | Ken Silverstein | Posted 10.30.2009 | Business

Read More: Derivatives, Barney Frank, House Financial Services Committee, Derivatives Reform, Business News

If you want to understand why Congress seems completely incapable of checking the power of Wall Street, look back to a hearing on the Hill last Octobe...

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Is Wall Street Full of Human CDOs?

Elise Coroneos | Posted 10.29.2009 | Business

Read More: Cdos, Wall Street, Derivatives, Financial Crisis, Banks, Human Cdos, Collateralized Debt Obligations, Cdo, Business News
Elise Coroneos

After the fiasco of the last year, the financial community should be getting back to the fundamentals of its job, which is to be stewards of the community's wealth.

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Happy Halloween: Pay Curbs are a Trick on the Taxpayer, Not a Treat

Marshall Auerback | Posted 10.27.2009 | Politics

Read More: Halloween, Tbtf, Chrysler, Derivatives, Fed, Treasury, Citibank, Aig, Obama, Ben Bernanke, Happy Halloween, Politics News
Marshall Auerback

The new pay regulations are ostensibly designed to try to align the financial incentives of managers with the longer-term performance of their firms. This measure reeks of bogus populism.

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Executive Compensation: The Best Halloween Costume

Jill Schlesinger | Posted 10.26.2009 | Business

Read More: PBS Frontline, Regulatory Reform, Executive Compensation, Brooksley Born, Derivatives, Business News
Jill Schlesinger

Limiting executive compensation is a terrific way to appease the masses and make it look like you're doing something without having to embark on the hard work of true regulatory reform.

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"Too Big To Fail" Legislation Is On The Way

New York Times | STEPHEN LABATON | Posted 10.26.2009 | Politics

Read More: Goldman Saks, Congress, Economy, Bailouts, Obama, Too Big to Fail Bill, Legislation, Ben Bernanke, Aig, White House, Bailout, Federal Reserve, Lehman Brothers, Bofa, Treasury, Gop, Consumer Protection Agency, Financial Crisis, Paul Volcker, Wall Street, Citigroup, Bank of America, Derivatives, Ben Bernanke Federal Reserve, Democrats, Recession, Barney Frank, House, House Financial Services Committee, Senate, Barack Obama, Tim Geithner, Banks, Bonuses, Too Big to Fail, Executive Pay, Politics News

A senior administration official said on Sunday that after extensive consultations with Treasury Department officials, Representative Barney Frank, th...

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Wall Street Follies: The Next Act

New York Times | GRETCHEN MORGENSON | Posted 10.25.2009 | Politics

Read More: House Financial Services Committee, Bailout, House Agriculture Committee, Obama Adminstration, Financial Reforms, Federal Reserve, Wall Street, Ag Committee, Derivatives, Economy, Financial Reform, Obama, Reform, The Fed, Consumer Protection Bill, White House, Financial Services Committee, Glass-Steagall, Politics News

It certainly sounded good. Hoping, perhaps, to persuade a dubious public that curbing reckless business practices is indeed a Washington priority, t...

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Showdown in Chicago

Richard Trumka | Posted 10.22.2009 | Business

Read More: American Bankers Association, CEO Pay, Chicago, Lobbyists, Derivatives, Financial Reform, Federal Reserve, Afl-Cio, Goldman Sachs, Labor, Unemployment, Wall Street, Hedge Funds, Ceos, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Union Blogs, Bonuses, Unions, Inequality, Bankers, Joblessness, Recession, Labor Unions, Economic Recovery, Business News
Richard Trumka

We're gathering outside the American Bankers Association meeting to demand reform that will allow us to rebuild our communities, our lives and the real economy. We've got a lot to rebuild.

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Shahien Nasiripour

Derivatives Bill Amended To Let Big Banks Keep Some Contracts Secret

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 10.21.2009 | Business

Read More: Derivatives Regulation, Bank Regulation, Banks, Derivatives, Derivatives Bill, Big Banks, Business News

The House Agriculture Committee approved legislation Wednesday beefing up regulation of the kind of opaque derivatives many blame for causing the fina...

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Frank Rich: Goldman Can Spare You A Dime

New York Times | FRANK RICH | Posted 10.17.2009 | Business

Read More: Timothy Geithner, Larry Summers, Economy, Barney Frank, Jobless, Regulation, Obama, Reform, Lloyd Blankfein, Frank Rich, Unemployment Rate, Goldman Sachs, White House, Jobless Rate, Bailout, Treasury, Blankfein, Wall Street, Health Care, Greed, Sec, Depression, Senate Finance Committee, Derivatives, Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, Goldman, Recession, Financial Services Committee, Health Care Reform, Bonuses, House Financial Services Committee, Business News

As leader of the Wall Street pack, Goldman declared surging profits, keeping it on track to dispense a record $23 billion in bonuses for 2009. But mos...

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Time to Take on the Banks

Eric Lotke | Posted 10.19.2009 | Politics

Read More: Bank Regulation, Regulation, Wall Street Bailout, Bailout, Wall Street, Derivatives, Politics News
Eric Lotke

People didn't vote last November for laissez-faire capitalism and billion dollar bonuses. They didn't bail out banks that were too big to fail so they could take over banks that were smaller and did.

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Exceptions To Derivatives Trading Rule Dilute Regulation

New York Times | GRETCHEN MORGENSON | Posted 10.17.2009 | Business

Read More: The Federal Reserve, Larry Summers, Clinton, Lehman Brothers, Derivatives Regulation, Aig, Obama Administration, Regulation, Obama, Legislation, House, Senate, White House, Economic Policy, Fed, Financial Services Committee, Treasury, Banks, Derivatives, Gary Gensler, Wall Street, Timothy Gueithner, Bill, Business News

Derivatives regulation has been on the nation's financial reform agenda for months. Undoing the Clinton-era law that exempted swaps from oversight is ...

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Shahien Nasiripour

Congressional Committees Quietly Kill Portion Of Derivatives Bill; No One Watching For Systemic Risk

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 10.17.2009 | Business

Read More: President, White House, Bankruptcy, Cftc, Derivatives, Bernanke, House Ag Committee, Federal Reserve, Regulation, Obama, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Legislation, Aig, Lehman Brothers, Tim Geithner, House Agriculture Committee, Treasury, Ben Bernanke, Bear Stearns, House Bill, Bill, Otc Derivatives, House Financial Services Committee, Business News

Two congressional committees in charge of drafting legislation to regulate derivatives have quietly killed a provision that would allow the Federal Re...

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Reviving the Local Economy With Publicly-Owned Banks

Ellen Brown | Posted 10.17.2009 | Business

Read More: Florida, Deflation, Wall Street, Inflation, Derivatives, Banks, Federal Reserve, Credit Crunch, Bank Bailout, Business News
Ellen Brown

Despite trillions of dollars in bailout money, bank loans fell to their lowest rate since the onset of the Great Depression. Now that the Fed has done all they can, is it time for the states to step in?

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Shahien Nasiripour

Derivatives Reform Weakened By Two Little-Noticed Amendments

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 10.15.2009 | Business

Read More: Judy Biggert, Barney Frank Derivatives, Judy Biggert Derivatives, Derivatives, Derivatives Reform, CFTC Derivatives, Cftc, Business News

Two little-noticed amendments inserted Wednesday into legislation seeking to strengthen regulation of derivatives will allow private industry to conti...

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Jason Linkins

Barney Frank Vows To Sharpen Derivatives Bill

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 10.15.2009 | Business

Read More: Derivatives, Barney Frank, Derivatives Regulation, Aig, Financial Crisis, Dylan Ratigan, Business News

The derivatives reform draft legislation before the House Financial Services Committee, authored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), contains significant ...

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