When an appeals court ruled that President Obama’s recess appointments of members of the National Labor Relations Board was unconstitutional, it also threw into doubt the validity of the recess appointment last January of Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. There was already a clash shaping up over …
Financial Reform
What (If Anything) Can Fix the SEC?
When President Obama nominated former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White to be the next Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the reaction was generally positive. White will be the first prosecutor to head the …
Waiting for Change: The Battle Over the U.S. Penny
When was the last time you stopped to pick up a penny? Considering most of us consider the one-cent coin almost worthless these days, it’s probably been a while. Still, the U.S. penny persists
Four Misconceptions About Taxes and the Deficit
A misguided response to the fiscal cliff could risk a recession while doing little to solve long-term financial problems
Do We Have Another Financial Bubble On Our Hands? Or Three?
Multiple debt markets are facing big trouble because of excessive borrowing and the Fed’s easy-money policies.
Banking’s Really Bad Day
Four years on from the financial crisis, new banking scandals still seem to break out every few months. But this week has been particularly bad for the industry. There was HSBC’s $1.9 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over laundering money for Latin American drug cartels and helping countries like Iran, Cuba, Sudan, …
Regulatory Report Card: How Effective Was Mary Schapiro as SEC Chair?
SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro announced yesterday that she would be stepping down from her role in December, marking the end of one of the most eventful four-year periods in the SEC’s history.
When she assumed the Chairmanship of …
Why the Fiscal Cliff is the Wrong Thing to Worry About
The resolution of the Fiscal Cliff will probably no solve much, while little attention is paid to the real economic problems.
How to Help Stay-at-Home Spouses Get Credit Cards Without Risking Our Financial Institutions
A regulation requiring proof of personal income in credit card applications has justly been described as “anti-housewife”. The rules hurt the ability of nonworking spouses to access credit and build their own independent credit standing. There is a smart solution to the problem—but it’s not the one currently being proposed by the …
Why So Many Americans Don’t Have Bank Accounts
At a time when you can pay bills online and deposit checks remotely using a cell phone, it’s amazing how many Americans don’t have bank accounts. One in nine households is without a checking account.
Will the Global Economy Tumble Off America’s Fiscal Cliff?
If the U.S. can’t resolve its looming budget problems, the fallout could plunge the entire world economy into a chasm