September 2008

"Today, the government failed to govern as it should have. Compromise was thrown out the window and tyranny of the minority is the rule of the day. No one, least of all me, was thrilled with the bill. It's often said that a camel is a horse designed by committee, and this bill is certainly a camel...but it is the best that a diverse group could come up with and it needs to be enacted in some form ... read more

"Common sense teaches that booksellers should not speculate in hops, or bankers in turpentine; that railways should not be promoted by maiden ladies, or canals by beneficed clergymen ... in the name of common sense, let there be common sense."--Walter Bagehot, 19th-century economist Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Securities and Exchange chairman ... read more

"Is there any reason why the American people should be taxed to guarantee the debts of banks, any more than they should be taxed to guarantee the debts of other institutions, including merchants, industries and mills of the country?" -- Senator Carter Glass, author of the Banking Act of 1933 With that act, US Senator Carter Glass put his imprimatur on one of the most important pieces of ... read more

The Securities and Exchange Commission took the dramatic step of banning for ten days short-selling on 799 financial stocks. And of course with any hastily planned regulatory intervention, potholes have opened. And ironically, the SEC's new ban giving shelter to the 799 financial companies is also protecting famous short-seller David Einhorn from the shorts. The SEC's ban could be ... read more

In a bid to stop a stock market in free-fall, the Securities and Exchange Commission released new rules aimed squarely at short sellers. The rules come after heated talks between the SEC and Wall Street executives, who firmly believe short sellers are savaging their companies' stocks, helping to drive down the overall market. Richard Fuld of Lehman Bros. (LEH) and John Mack of Morgan Stanley ... read more