Senate and House conferees are about to reconcile a financial reform bill that is virtually designed to institutionalize “too big to fail.” And when they do we’ll lose another battle in the ongoing war between global financial markets and democratic nation-states. This war has been going on for decades — but democracy hasn’t always been [...]
TOKYO — Japan could face a financial mess like the one that has crippled Greece if it does not deal urgently with its swelling national debt, the new prime minister warned Friday. While Japan is on firmer financial footing than Greece because most of its debt is held domestically, Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s blunt talk [...]
MINNEAPOLIS — Delta Air Lines blamed a paperwork mix-up for sending two children to the wrong cities as they flew under the airline’s unaccompanied minors program. Delta said the children were connecting through Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Tuesday when they were put on the wrong connecting flights because of a “paperwork swap.” Delta spokesman [...]
What is all this talk about the possibility of BP declaring bankruptcy? What would that do to the “legitimate” claims against it? I have had this concern from the beginning that the interests of BP and those of the president are decidedly different. BP has a responsibility to its stockholders. Already beaten down by the [...]
In the nearly two decades I have been following private military contracting issues I have read hundred of analyses and law journal articles regarding how PMCs fit or don’t fit, into existing national and international legal frameworks. Generally even PMC supporters agree with critics that existing laws need to be at least tweaked. May will [...]
When the Senate recently passed the banking reform bill, “Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010″ (S. 3217), it included a strong combination of improvements to our financial system. That bill had overcome some major hurdles, not the least of which is a penchant for legislative inertia in an election year and paralyzing partisanship. Consumers [...]
While federal leadership on climate change was AWOL for most of this decade, big business represented an opportunity to cut emissions and bring new technologies to the market now. One of those businesses was BP. My organization, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), worked with BP to test carbon-trading systems and recruited the company to join a [...]
The recent oil spill and the past financial collapse both show why protective barriers are important. Sand bags in hand, thousands of National Guard have been activated to buttress our coast line against the dark plume caused by Big Oil BP. Sand bags in hand, a small group of House and Senate Conferees reconciling House [...]
Can we avoid black swans? Ken Posner — veteran Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) securities analyst and author of the book Stalking the Black Swan: Research and Decision-Making in a World of Extreme Volatility– says, “Yes.” Posner states, “Volatility results from market economies, global capital flows, and information technologies and is necessary for innovation and progress. Rather than wishing volatility [...]
Today’s most important economic news: U.S. household debt fell for the seventh straight quarter in the first three months of 2010 as Americans continued to respond to the recession’s fallout. But like all economic news, its significance depends on where you’re standing — whether you’re a typical American or someone at the top. The common [...]