New SEC Chair Stakes Out Her Territory

(NEWSER) - The heat is apparently getting to Tim Geithner. At a meeting last week with high-level financial regulators, the treasury secretary indulged in a potty-mouthed diatribe about delays in the administration's highly touted plan to overhaul the regulatory system, declaring, "enough is enough," the Wall Street Journal reports. Attendees included Ben Bernanke, FDIC chair Sheila Bair, and SEC chair Mary Schapiro. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama today proposed broad new powers for the Federal Reserve and the creation of new national regulator to ensure against another financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the new plan, the Fed would oversee all components of any banking concern, even its foreign affiliates, and Treasury would have the power to take over and restructure any company. Obama called it a “sweeping overhaul.” More»

Treasury sec should be able to seize non-bank firms, says administration

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration is expected to ask Congress for expanded powers that would let the Treasury secretary seize insurers, hedge funds, and other non-bank financial companies whose failure would imperil the economy, reports the Washington Post. While negotiations are ongoing, the plans to expand Treasury authority would represent a major shift from the current model of financial regulation, in which independent agencies have oversight powers. More»

Adviser irked that Geithner, not he, has Obama's ear

(NEWSER) - Economics guru Larry Summers will be out the Obama administration by November’s election, or shortly thereafter, Joshua Green contends —mainly out of frustration that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and not he, has become President Obama’s go-to adviser in that area. Blogging for the Atlantic, Green notes that, after being passed over for the top spots at Treasury and the Federal Reserve, “Summers is frustrated by his role, and his colleagues are clearly frustrated with him.” More»

Oversight measures aim for 'minimum' to avoid meltdown

(NEWSER) - Today Barack Obama will announce a major financial reform package that will give the Fed, Treasury, and FDIC new powers of regulation and oversight. It's the most substantial shift in financial regulations since the 1930s—but stops short of some of the most radical proposals, including tough limits on derivatives trading. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the president says he wants a "relatively light touch," but that Washington needs to "guard against huge systemic risk." More»