Small Initiatives

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) reduced the target federal funds rate another 25 basis points to 2% on Wednesday. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher and Philadelphia...

Thank you for your understanding and concern during the last illness and passing of my mother on Friday, April 25. --Ann

FDIC Financial Institution Letter FIL-32-2008 (April 10, 2008) notifies banks that they can access the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) publication "The SAR Activity Report by the...

A disturbing article in the WSJ last week suggested that the London inter-bank offered rate (Libor) may be less than fully reliable because some troubled banks may not be reporting the high interest...

My Corporate Governance class at the Texas Tech University School of Law was discussing Institutional Investors, including hedge funds, as a potential monitor for the boards of directors of publicly...

The 2007 Texas Legislature passed a bill establishing a new Closed Account Notification System ("CANS") -- the first example of this type of anti-ID theft measure in the U.S. The Texas Department of...

Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh delivered a speech entitled "Financial Market Turmoil and the Federal Reserve: The Plot Thickens" to the New York University School of Law Global Economic Policy...

Today's WSJ carries an article worth noting on Page B3: "IRS Corporate Tax Audits Fall," by Jesse Drucker. Surprisingly, the rate at which the IRS audits large corporations hit a 20-year low in 2007....

Thanks to Sally Thompson for this intriguing look at the question, "Are Bernanke's Hands Tied? -- Eight Reasons Why the U.S. May Be in Worse Trouble Than You Think." Link:...

All the scoop on current issues in Executive Compensation: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/business/06comp.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=executive+compensation&st=nyt&oref=slogin (ag) April 9,...

Comptroller John Dugan presented the agency's views on the FHA Housing Stabilization and Homeownership Act of 2008 before Congress today. This is basically a voluntary loan workout program with the...

Alan Greenspan denies all. He claims that "the U.S. bubble was close to median world experience and the evidence that monetary policy added to the bubble is statistically very fragile." He makes this...

Federal Reserve Governor Randall Krozner delivered a speech today highlighting an aspect of global economic issues we don't often see reported these days because we're so focused on our own U.S....

Yesterday, NPR interviewed Law Professor Michael Greenberger, who provided an explanation of the complex derivatives, such as credit default swaps, which are not transparent and, as a result, create...

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke finally said it. He is quoted in today's WSJ as testifying before Congress' Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday that, "A recession is possible." Of course, a...

Everyone's in the midst of reviewing the Paulson Report but here's a viewpoint we don't see adequately expressed in that report: How does federal agency dependence on charter revenue and the power...

Excerpt from Warren Buffett's current Letter to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders: "Some major financial institutions have, however, experienced staggering problems because they engaged in the...

Today's Wall Street Journal has a short "Today's Agenda" item at the bottom of page one, letting us know that: "A court will weigh overturning the conviction of Jeffrey Skilling, the government's...

Just when plates are full-to-overflowing with housing-related issues, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson announced his resignation yesterday so that he can "attend more...

Just when plates are full-to-overflowing with housing-related issues, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson announced his resignation yesterday so that he can "attend more...