In a recent interview on CNBC, AIG President & CEO Bob Benmosche, said he expects his company to receive “systemically important financial institution” (SIFI) status — regulator speak for “too big to fail” (TBTF) — when the Fed and FDIC belatedly determine what firms constitute such “grave threats” to our economy. Under Dodd-Frank, a company determined to be a “grave threat” could face restrictions on its business activities or requirements that it divest assets or operations. Some have even suggested the law allows regulators to “break up” such firms to reduce systemic risk. Supporters of Do... Read More »
Congressman Bill Huizenga joined us during the markup of H.R. 742 to discuss swap derivatives and why they're important to a range of industries and businesses. To ensure market transparency and global regulatory cooperation, the Dodd-Frank Act requires U.S. regulators to share information about these financial tools with their foreign counterparts. Unfortunately, the process Dodd-Frank prescribes for this data-sharing has proven to be unworkable for regulators. Without a fix like H.R. 742, foreign regulators may end up establishing their own swap derivatives databases to ensure they have the... Read More »
George Will: Courts and Congress give Obama adult supervision Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.), chairman of the Financial Services Committee, has told Richard Cordray not to bother. This is part of the recent evidence that government is getting some adult supervision. Barack Obama used a recess appointment to make Cordray director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But a federal circuit court has declared unconstitutional three other recess appointments made the same day because the Senate was not in recess. So Hensarling has told Cordray not to testify before his committee: “Absent cont... Read More »
Wall Street Journal’s Mary Kissel: Disdain for the Courts The House Financial Services Committee disinvited Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief Richard Cordray from testifying Tuesday, noting President Obama's non-recess, recess appointment of Mr. Cordray and a January D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision, Noel Canning v. NLRB, that invalidated other appointments made under the same pretense. In a letter to Mr. Cordray, Texas Republican Jeb Hensarling said his committee stands "ready to accept the testimony of the Director of the CFPB" when "an individual validly holds this position."... Read More »
Chairman Jeb Hensarling announced this week that the committee cannot legally accept testimony from Richard Cordray on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) semi-annual report until he is legally installed as the CFPB Director. However, the committee will continue to conduct rigorous oversight of the CFPB, and has already invited CFPB officials to testify at an upcoming hearing on the agency’s new Qualified Mortgage rule. Chairman Hensarling explains why the committee cannot receive the CFPB’s semi-annual report from Cordray in the video above. Read More »
Freedom and human dignity are the ideals upon which our country was founded -- and these ideals leave no room whatsoever for bigotry and hatred -- none. H.R. 360 posthumously bestows Congress's highest civilian honor -- the Congressional Gold Medal -- to Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Denise McNair. This legislation is a reminder of America's noble founding and a tribute to these four girls whose tragic deaths galvanized a nation to action. Read More »
“President Obama's attempt to unilaterally appoint three people to seats on the National Labor Relations Board and Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is more than an unconstitutional attempt to circumvent the Senate's advise-and-consent role. It is a breathtaking violation of the separation of powers and the duty of comity that the executive owes to Congress.” -Ed Meese, Former Attorney General and Todd Gaziano, Director of Heritage’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies “There is little question that this applies to the Cordray appointment.” -Deepak Gupta, ... Read More »
By Ann Wagner A little over a year ago, Congress passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. The JOBS Act was designed to make it easier for entrepreneurs to raise capital and turn their ideas into job-creating businesses that might one day go public. At a time of slow growth and high unemployment, the JOBS Act was a big win for the St. Louis region and the American economy. Not only was the JOBS Act good policy — it also was an important bipartisan breakthrough at a time of heightened partisanship. During the Rose Garden signing ceremony, President Obama hailed the bill as a “pote... Read More »
WSJ-MarketWatch: How Thatcher would have fixed the financial crisis She ignored conventional wisdom, acted on her beliefs UK Telegraph: The IMF is flunking the financial crisis By turning its fire on Britain, the IMF gives the impression it is out of ideas and solutions Financial Times: Wake up to the #Twitter effect on markets Investors need to spend more time thinking about the way social media can affect financial markets Reuters: New regulations require cleaner data Continuing efforts by financial regulators and by firms themselves to monitor and offset risk have affected almost all areas ... Read More »
Forbes: Margaret Thatcher Exposed The Infantile Illusions Of Socialism Margaret Thatcher’s economic policies, we are often told, were cruel, harsh, immoral. In fact she was a deeply moral thinker, and the moral superiority of the free market was central to her thinking. She made the case for it like no other major political leader. Washington Post: Is easy money creating a new wave of bubbles? Trillions of new dollars, euros, yen and pounds are sloshing around the global financial system, a result of extraordinary efforts by the leading central banks over the last several years to try to yank ... Read More »
