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Budget, health care bill changes starting to add up
Financial planners and accountants are in for a busy year or two if President Barack Obama gets his way on the budget and a health care reform bill.
SEC needs to remember that investors come first
Like the public's trust and confidence in Wall Street, faith in the Securities and Exchange Commission was shattered as a result of the 2008 financial meltdown.
Jobs and economy take center stage – for the moment
Employment is now job one at the White House.
Time for compromise on Capitol Hill
The Senate this week begins debate on its version of a financial-reform bill.
Look out, SEC, cozy settlements won’t fly anymore
If the Securities and Exchange Commission won't protect shareholders, then the courts must — and they will.
Crisis probe provides theater but little light
The hearings of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission are off to a poor start, generating a whole lot of heat but not much light. If its chairman, Philip Angelides, and the other members of the commission don't
Did Wall Street bet on failure?
It would seem to be an obvious conflict of interest for a Wall Street firm to create an investment product, sell it to its clients and then bet that the product would fail.
New Year’s resolutions we’d like to see
Here are some solutions for 2010 that we hope our politicians, regulators and financial wizards have made.
Have yourself a fiduciary Christmas
FLAWED THOUGH IT MAY BE, the House of Representatives delivered an early Christmas present to the advice business…
Fed should be left alone on money decisions
It appears likely that Congress will punish the Federal Reserve for its role in the financial crisis by taking away some of its independence and responsibilities. The legislators are scapegoating.
‘Reform’ bill heavy on restriction, light on reform
Administration officials and members of Congress fret that banks aren't lending enough, and that companies aren't hiring enough, to reduce unemployment significantly and get the economy moving again.
DC plan participants need credible advice, and quickly
Thanks to foot-dragging by Congress and the Department of Labor, millions of participants in defined-contribution retirement plans have struggled through the financial crisis and market crash without
Congress needs to avoid a dangerous juggling act
Congress has plans to pass health care reform legislation, and cap-and-trade legislation to combat global warming, and will have to reconcile financial-reform legislation — all by the end of the first quarter of 2010.
Weak dollar a mixed blessing and an opportunity
Could the Obama administration be following a weak-dollar strategy deliberately?
Health reform legislation portends higher inflation
Although the Federal Reserve Board remains confident that inflation will remain low, those drafting the health reform legislation in the House of Representatives appear to be betting that it will accelerate in the next few years.
A financial transactions tax would bite investors
Wealthy investors know that tax increases are in their future.
‘Pay czar’ compensation model is a good start
Kenneth Feinberg, President Obama's “pay czar,” last week capped and restructured the salaries of top executives at seven embattled corporations that have not yet repaid the help they received from the federal government last year.
Is Schapiro the right person to reform the SEC?
SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro could credibly claim that during her tenure as head of Finra, the group was not responsible for failing to detect the Madoff Ponzi scheme.
What the small can teach the large
Judging by the recent 2009 Moss Adams/ InvestmentNews Adviser Compensation and Staffing Study, financial planning, investment advisory and independent-brokerage firms could teach companies in many other fields how to manage in tough times.
SEC not alone in missing the Madoff debacle
The Securities and Exchange Commission's inspector general, David Kotz, rightfully excoriated the agency for its failure to expose the Madoff scheme during its investigations of the firm.
