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27 Jun 2010 12:23

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Politics: The financial reform bill a framework for many, many rules

Barney Frank, pictured, and Chris Dodd, the main architects of the reform bill, designed it so that the rules could come along – and be influenced – later. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jun 2010 09:22

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Biz: It took all freaking night, but we have a finance reform deal

  • Quite frankly, common sense prevailed. … Our objectives were to get the risky stuff out of banks. We figured out how to do that.
  • Sen. Blanche Lincoln • On her derivatives proposal, the meat of which was kept in a last-minute deal brokered waaaaaaaaaaaaay past bedtime. Obviously, most of this stuff will fly over non-investors’ heads, but the deal essentially allows banks to keep using derivatives on less-risky investments – foreign exchange, interest rate, gold and silver swaps, and hedges on their own investments – while forcing them to spin off separate companies for their riskiest derivatives. You know, the ones that caused the financial crisis, like cleared and uncleared commodities, agricultural, energy and equities swaps, and credit. Some biz-friendly Democrats wanted to railroad this, but failed. Nice save. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jun 2010 11:14

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U.S.: Financial reform bill is nearing the finish line. WHOO!

  • DERIVATIVES! DERIVATIVES! DERIVATIVES! DERIVATIVES! We’re so pumped to see financial reform finally pass between the House and Senate that “DERIVATIVES!” is kinda like a battle cry for us. Or not. But Christopher Dodd gets his name on the broadest rewrite of financial law since the 1930s, and the deal-brokering has if nothing else, made the bill palatable to some on both sides of the aisle. Congress has given themselves a deadline of today, so some stuff may end up on the cutting-room floor, but it would still be a big victory. Right? Right? DERIVATIVES! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jun 2010 20:51

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Biz: Financial reform bill: Debit card fee hataz have a reason to be happy

  • Remember the financial bill? Oh yeah, that thing. One of the many feathers in Obama’s cap. Well, the bill, which has already passed the Senate, needed some changes to pass muster with the house. The biggest one for consumers and small businesses? The insanely high fees on debit card transactions, which were responsible for big profits for card companies at the cost of small businesses. Well – great news! – after a little work, the House finally struck a tentative deal on this issue. There are lots of other things to still hash out, though, including the biggie for investors (and people who don’t want to see their financial system fall apart) – regulating derivatives. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2010 20:45

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U.S.: Financial reform passes the Senate; Twitter reacts to the news



Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2010 20:28

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U.S.: The Senate’s in the mushy, bile-like stage of financial reform

  • no The financial reform bill wasn’t able to pass through the wall of filibuster to end debate.
  • no Arlen Specter wasn’t one of the 57 yes votes; he’s still sulking back in Pennslyvania.
  • yes Experts expect the bill to pass eventually after a little more debating back and forth. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 May 2010 20:25

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Biz, U.S.: The Senate’s financial reform bill trying to limit nickel-and-diming

  • 50¢ limits to ATM fees could be coming, too, guys source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

14 May 2010 10:55

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Biz: Credit-card makers hit hard by the Senate’s debit-card changes

  • -8.5% decline in Visa’s stock since the Senate passed the changes last night
  • -7.5% decline in MasterCard’s stock; the amendment limits card fees source
  • » Other companies: Visa and MasterCard felt it the worst, but they weren’t alone. American Express and Capital One also fell sharply in trading this morning due to the amendment’s unexpected passage, which limits the fees card companies can charge merchants. It still needs to go through the House as part of the broader financial reform bill.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 20:59

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Biz, U.S.: The Senate wants to take the bite out of debit-card “swipe fees”

  • 64 senators voted to add the amendment to the financial reform bill
  • 65% of debit transactions
    will be affected by
    the changes
  • yes the bill will allow incentives for those who pay with cash source
  • » The addition, explained: Banks and other financial institutions charge fees for consumers to use debit cards. The fees aren’t significant for big-ticket retail chains but can hurt the bottom line of small businesses or those that specialize in selling lots of inexpensive items (say, 7-Eleven or McDonald’s). These fees can get passed down to the consumer as a result. The bill limits how much those fees can be, but leaves exceptions for banks with less than $10 billion in assets. Credit unions, by the way, are complaining loudly about these changes, in particular.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 May 2010 12:46

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Politics: Sen. Richard Shelby: Financial reform missing Fannie, Freddie

  • When home prices finally collapsed, these ticking time bombs exploded, saddling taxpayers with hundreds of billions of dollars of debt.
  • Sen. Richard Shelby • Saying why he thinks the financial reform bill should include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two major mortgage companies that fell apart during the financial crisis. He thinks that the financial reform bill should do something about the mortgage giants, which he characterized as costing taxpayers significant amounts of money. During his statement, in response to Obama’s weekly radio address (which tackled health care’s successes), Shelby also criticized a proposed consumer protection watchdog bureau in the Federal Reserve for possibly raising costs for taxpayers. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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