WASHINGTON — The revamp of financial regulation that was agreed to Friday and is going to a vote in both houses of Congress next week addresses head-on much of what brought about the financial crisis: — Mortgage and predatory lending.Numerous federal regulators lose consumer protection powers to a new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection , which has the consumer as its sole focus.
The House and Senate hope to send a landmark financial regulatory overhaul to President Obama by the end of next week, after finalizing the legislation in a bruising 20-hour marathon conference early Friday that hinged on a compromise over derivatives trades by banks. The House is expected to take up the conference report on Tuesday or Wednesday and the Senate is expected to follow suit on Wednes
LONDON/VENICE, Louisiana BP Plc said the relief well to plug the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is on track and now has the blown-out well in its sights.Concern over its ability to pay the rapidly escalating cost of the worst spill in U.S history continued to weigh on its shares, however, sending its London stock to a 14-year low and further hitting its credit profile.BP said in a statement o
European leaders agreed on Thursday to strengthen the eurozone’s economic governance by tightening surveillance of national budgets, paying more attention to debt levels and developing a scoreboard for assessing business competitiveness.According to a draft summit communique, made available to the Financial Times, leaders of the 27-nation European Union also threw their weight behind tougher regu
Goldman Sachs made a $35m bet in the credit derivatives market against California, the biggest such trade in the past few years by Wall Street banks that underwrite the state’s bond sales, according to information that the banks provided to the state.California, the biggest issuer of US state debt, this year began an inquiry into the trading of credit default swaps by its six major underwriters,
BUDAPEST – Hungary's markets tumbled on Friday on confusing comments from the new government on the state of public finances, prompting the central bank to rush to reassure investors the country's budget was sustainable.Markets were spooked by comments from the prime minister's spokesman that he supported the view his country had only a slim chance of avoiding a Greek-style debt crisis, al
China has postponed a plan to introduce credit default swaps to its domestic market after regulators objected and senior officials vetoed the proposal following discussion over the derivatives’ contribution to the global financial crisis.The plan to launch a CDS pilot project in China was advanced and enjoyed preliminary support from the central bank.But other regulatory bodies, including the ban