Should Mary Schapiro save the SEC or shut it down?

Mary Schapiro, reported to be the President-elect’s choice to run the Securities and Exchange Commission, is—by several miles—the most qualified person for the job. She’s served a previous six-year stint on the SEC (she was first appointed by Ronald Reagan), including a period as acting chairman. She’s been chairman of the Commodity …

10 things I’ll miss about my job

1. Morning meeting smackdowns, nerd style. (“In my admittedly jaundiced opinion…” “It’s hard to fathom…” “Of course, you’re familiar with the Cartesian argument…”)

2. Plastic cups of red table wine at closing night dinner.

3. Two-month deadlines.

When did Madoff go from legit to Ponzi?

One of the big questions that one hopes investigators will dig up an answer for over the next few weeks was when Bernie Madoff’s investment strategy made the switch from legitimate to Ponzi scheme. It seems highly improbable that he meant for it to be a scam from the beginning. There just wasn’t anything in it for him. He was already a …

I take it all back: Bengt Holmström says securitization wasn’t the problem, but Glass-Steagall repeal might have been

I’ve done a lot of bashing here of those who think the 1999 repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act separating banking from the investment business is to blame for all our troubles. I’ve also argued that securitization—at least fancy-pants securitization—has been partly at fault. So it was interesting to hear an economist I admire make the …

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