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- Bush to announce interest-rate freeze for some homeowners
President George W. Bush is expected to announce today that mortgage firms will freeze interest rates on some subprime mortgages for five years to stem the tide of foreclosures. The financial-services industry is certain to embrace the plan by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson over another being kicked around in the Senate. The bill, which the industry is outraged with, would allow bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of a mortgage in a Chapter 13 proceeding without the lender's input. "If a mortgage loan can be modified during bankruptcy, it will be far more difficult to originate or sell mortgages in the secondary market," SIFMA said in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee.  ClipSyndicate
(12/5), The Washington Post
(12/6), Financial Times (free content)
(12/6), The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)
(12/6), Forbes
(12/6)      
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- Paulson calls on China to maintain economic growth
On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson explained that the U.S. has an interest in the continued growth of China and encouraged Beijing to live up to its responsibilities as part of the global economy. "Too many people have been worried about the wrong thing -- worried that China's growth is somehow going to hurt the rest of the world," Paulson said. "China's growth is helping the rest of the world and our interest is seeing that growth continue but to evolve into a more balanced growth." Financial Times (free content)
(12/5)
- Asian exchanges collaborate to survive
Competition from investment banks' liquidity pools and large Western exchanges have prompted Asian exchanges to work together. "The emergence of potential global platforms, such as NYSE Euronext, Nasdaq and OMX means there is a rising risk that small exchanges may be marginalized," said Hsieh Fu Hua, CEO of SGX. "However, more insidious is the challenge from off-exchange liquidity pools led by investment banks, and broker dealers, such as Bats, which has emerged from nowhere to become the third-largest equity-trading center in the U.S." Financial News Online (U.K.) (subscription required)
(12/6)
- OECD says Fed, ECB should not cut interest rates
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is predicting that the global economy will make it through the U.S. housing storm and advised the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank against cutting key interest rates. The Paris-based group said jobs data, corporate profits and increased trade were buffering the world economy. Bloomberg
(12/6)
- Commentary: Days may be numbered for NYSE trading floor
David Weidner, writing for MarketWatch, says the New York Stock Exchange's iconic trading floor, long a symbol of American capitalism, may soon become a thing of the past. Weidner points to the thinning ranks of floor brokers and specialists, the closure of three of the five trading floors, and the exit of Van der Moolen Holdings as signs pointing to a future without the trading floor. MarketWatch
(12/5)
| Regulatory Roundup | | |
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- European commissioner proposes regulatory cooperation
Charlie McCreevy, the European commissioner for internal markets and services, said the subprime-mortgage meltdown had highlighted the necessity for greater cooperation between national financial regulators. McCreevy has proposed that the financial regulators in Europe create a college to provide unity and overcome obstacles to multinational business. Financial News Online (U.K.) (subscription required)
(12/5)
- SEC looks at hedge fund investment schemes
An SEC official and securities lawyers say the commission is investigating whether financial institutions are investing in hedge funds to gain inside information. "The SEC is concerned that there is an underground flow of inside information," said Paul Roth, partner in Schulte Roth & Zabel of New York. Reuters
(12/5)
- SEC chief: Rise of sovereign wealth funds raises concerns
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said sovereign wealth funds raise particular questions for the commission in terms of conflicts of interest, enforcement, market efficiency and transparency. "Rules that might be rigorously applied to private sector competitors will not necessarily be applied in the same way to the sovereign who makes the rules," Cox said. Reuters
(12/5)
| SIFMA News | | |
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SIFMA and LSTA Request Repeal of Bankruptcy Rule 2019
SIFMA and the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) recently submitted a letter to the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Judicial Conference of the U.S. requesting that Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 2019 be repealed. Over the past year or so, SIFMA and LSTA have filed amicus briefs in several litigated cases about the proper application of the rule. Having concluded that ad hoc litigation does not provide the best forum to debate the soundness of the rule, however, SIFMA and LSTA determined to seek repeal of the rule. SIFMA and LSTA cited four primary reasons for their request: 1) Rule 2019 has little utility to the sound administration of Chapter 11 cases; 2) Information required by Rule 2019 is already readily attainable, which makes Rule 2019 redundant; 3) Rule 2019 irrationally and inefficiently singles out parties in interest who chose to form ad hoc committees; and 4) Rule 2019 has the potential to affect the debtor's reorganization negatively. Click here to view SIFMA's letter.
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