Talk Shit

Goldman opens books to scrutiny but no wider shake-up Goldman Sachs Group Inc pledged to be more open about how it makes money and to put the interests of clients ahead of its own in an effort to rebut criticism it acted more like a hedge fund than a bank during the credit boom and misled investors. Read more on Reuters via Yahoo! News Mellody’s Tips to Improve Financial Health in 2011 It’s a new year and you can start the year right by improving your financial health with five steps you can take right now. Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments and ‘Good Morning America’ personal finance contributor, said you should pay down your debts and shop at the right time to maximize savings. She also offered other useful tips. Read more on ABC News More...

W.Va auditors office set to oversee more advisers State Auditor Glen Gainer, in his role as state securities commissioner, is preparing to take over the regulation of 20 additional investment advisers from federal agencies this summer.The switch in regulation is designed to intensify oversight of the firm… Read more on Charleston Daily Mail How Wall St. execs bankrolled GOP victory A small network of hedge fund executives pumped at least $ 10 million into Republican-allied groups before November’s elections, according to a review of campaign records and interviews by the Center for Public Integrity and NBC News. Read more on MSNBC Dodd-Frank Pumps Up CME Group The new regulation is a part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act, under which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) proposed rules for how OTC derivatives clearing houses should be regulated. While these rules pertain to the U.S. securities laws, we believe regulation in the EU should mirror that of the U.S. More...

Montana for Financial Reform Image by americans4financialreform Slashing 0 billion: What’s first to go? Incoming House Speaker John Boehner has made it very clear: When he takes control of the House, slashing the federal budget by $ 100 billion will be priority number one. Read more on CNN Money Morning Roundup: ‘Absent-minded’ Before the blizzard that walloped the Northeast, New Jersey’s controversial Gov. Chris Christie went to Disney World. He didn’t fly back when he heard of the news. And compounding the issue, his No. 2, Lt. Gov. Read more on MSNBC: First Read The Tea Party’s uphill challenge THE TEA PARTY movement and its millions of supporters have high hopes that the recent elections will rein in runaway government. While I endorse this objective, accomplishing it will be far more difficult than most people realize. Read more on The Gilmer Mirror More...

Cheat Sheet: Where the Fed’s trillions went | Business Agenda A provision in the financial reform law has forced the Federal Reserve to disclose the details of the trillions it lent out at the height of the recent financial crisis. You can see the data from some of the Fed’s emergency lending programs in our interactive list . In all, there were 11 programs — a mess of confusing acronyms like AMLF, TALF, PDCF, CPFF and so on — but generally speaking, they … Read more on MinnPost Federal Reserve proposes rules to slash debit card ‘swipe fees’ The Federal Reserve on Thursday proposed new rules that could sharply limit the fees that banks charge retailers for debit card transactions. Read more on Los Angeles Times More...

by americans4financialreform Question by _______: Have any of the financial reform bills been released yet? I know Chris Dodd wrote a reform bill. (Lol……..I’m sorry, the idea of Dodd “reforming” anything is like expecting lead wings to help you fly) I know that Republicans have floated a counter proposal. (The other party, ALSO owned by Wall Street interests.) However the reporting on these two has been atrocious. The lack of details almost seems intentional. So does anyone have links to the actual text being talked about?? For instance: Is this “consumer protection agency” part of the Treasury Dept. or part of the Federal Reserve?? Who has the authority to decide whether or not a bank must be dissolved?? How do each of these proposals try to deal with the Fannie/Freddie obligations currently off the books?? Is there any mechanism that would separate commercial from investment banking?? Is there a FULL audit of the Federal Reserve still includ More...

Help us cross the financial reform finish line! Image by americans4financialreform July 12, 2010 AFR went to the Boston Marathon finish line to ask Senator Scott Brown to help get financial reform past the finish line. Business events scheduled for the coming week MONDAY, Sept. 27 WASHINGTON — Meeting of the presidential commission investigating the BP oil spill, through Sept. 28. Read more on AP via Yahoo! Finance Business Events Scheduled for the Coming Week Business events and economic reports scheduled for the coming week Business – Freddie Mac – Federal Reserve System – United States – United States Department of Commerce Read more on ABC News ‘Fast Money’ Recap: All Aboard The trading panel said it’s difficult not to be in the market as it surges higher. Read more on TheStreet.com Taxed to Death – Week in Review FOX Business Network explores the issue of the Bush tax cuts possibly sunsetting. Read more on FOX Business More...

by Locator Question by Radical Common Sense: Should Republicans take this opportunity to tell America where this financial crisis REALLY started? With this push for a financial “reform” bill, should Republicans just DRIVE home to the American public where this financial crisis really started and who is responsible? Fanny Mae, Freddie Mac; Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Frank Raines, etc HELL YES!!! I say Some people seem to be missing the point here. Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac have been excluded from this bill, and THEY are what started it, with the help of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, most notably. And this bill just allows more bailouts. A terrible, terrible idea. It doesn’t protect the public at all, but steals from the public to bailout financial institutions. The corruption and arrogance of this administration is astonishing Republicans shoud filabuster this bill and hold daily press conferences, telling the American people where this problem started, who is responsi More...

Question by 0bama, give us our Country back!: Is anyone else worried that 0bama’s financial reform would just cause MORE bank failures? Why does everything need to be “reformed” anyways? Best answer: Answer by Tricky Republican DickIt can’t get ANY WORSE than the near-collapse caused by the Republican deregulation Add your own answer in the comments! More...

Question by TAT: Goldman Sachs says they will be the biggest beneficiaries of financial reform.? Should Obama put a gag order on them until his “reform” package is passed? Best answer: Answer by NoLibsSo we don’t find out that Obama and Goldman, amongst others, are all part of the new Crime Inc scam that’s being implemented where they stand to see 15 trillion passing through their hands if certain bills pass. What do you think? Answer below! More...

Too Little, Too Late David Wessel on the late flurry of stimulus initiatives from the White House Middle East – Government – President – Wall Street – United States Congress Read more on The Atlantic US Senator Reid sees “mopping up” lame-duck session US Senator Reid sees “mopping up” lame-duck session Read more on FOX Business More...