SEC Chair: At Least I Didn't Panic

Loophole lets Madoff types profit from bad advice, they say

(NEWSER) - Wall Street advisers and brokers are tussling over the details of a looming regulatory overhaul as Washington takes steps to prevent another Bernard Madoff scandal, Bloomberg reports. Advisers want brokers who counsel clients to be subject to the same oversight they’re under; currently, their brokerage counterparts can profit by swaying customers to buy their firm’s own financial offerings, even if they’re a bad risk. More»

'Exceedingly cautious' approach had Paulson looking to kill agency

(NEWSER) - With US markets in upheaval, the head of the watchdog Securities and Exchange Commission was preoccupied with a new technology for corporate filing, Bloomberg reports. Christopher Cox’s inaction has provoked bipartisan criticism: McCain adviser Carly Fiorina said he has been “asleep at the switch,” while Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd has ordered a probe into the drastic drop in SEC enforcement under Cox’s watch. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama visited Wall Street’s historic Federal Hall today, on the anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse, to make the case for the financial regulatory reforms wending their way through Congress. He spoke of the need for “strong rules of the road” for the financial system. “History cannot be allowed to repeat itself,” he said, calling the effort “the most ambitious overhaul of the financial regulatory system since the Great Depression.” More»

(NEWSER) - The SEC's inspector general says the agency had plenty of chances to take down Bernie Madoff and whiffed on every one, Bloomberg reports. In a report released today, H. David Kotz writes that the SEC received "detailed and substantive complaints over the years to warrant a thorough and comprehensive examination” of Madoff. And yet it never performed a "competent investigation or examination." More»

Banks may have unfair edge in information on credit-default swaps

(NEWSER) - The Justice Department is probing the market for credit-default swaps, the largely unregulated derivatives that contributed to the financial crisis, Bloomberg reports. Justice is investigating whether big banks have unfair access to price information through their ownership of a private company that provides data to investors. The Obama administration wants to bring transparency to the swap market, where investors speculate on companies’ failure to pay debts. More»