Category Archives: Regulations and regulators

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly About the Fed’s New Credit Allocation Policy

Why using credit as an economic remedy evenutally does more harm than good.

WSJ Says Banks Can’t Determine Who Is Credit-Worthy: More COVID-19 Fallout

WSJ says banks can no longer determine who is credit-worthy using existing models – more COVID-19 fallout, this of uncertain magnitude.

Waste Watch: Plastic Free July in the Age of COVID-19

As COVID-19 swamps the world, other problems remain. Commit to a plastic free July and mitigate the world’s plastic problem.

SEC Issues Devastating Risk Alert on Private Equity Abuses; Effectively Admits Failure of Last 5+ Years of Enforcement

The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations says private equity conduct is really really bad.

Bayer Agrees to $10.9 Billion Glyphosate Settlement

Bayer agrees to $10.9 billion glyphosate settlement, resolving much pending US litigation. The company still faces European woes.

Massive Credit Losses to Hit European Banks in Q2 and into 2021, Particularly When Debt Moratoriums Are Lifted

Keeping tabs on the wobbly state of EU banks.

Who Pays for Stranded Assets? Taxpayers Are Footing The Bill For 100-Year Old Oil Wells

Why shuttering oil wells is a physical, economic, and political mess.

Trump Administration Hunting Rule Change: Making it Easier to Execute Alaska’s Bears in National Parks

Trump adminstration makes some rule changes that make it easier to execute bears on national land. Is this practice fair and what is hunting anyway?

Private Equity Gets New Pockets to Pick: Your 401(k), in Funds Repeatedly Cited by the SEC for Abuses

While the US was busy with coronavirus and George Floyd protests, private equity stormed the retail investor barricade.

Revealed: Nearly 400,000 British Companies Evade Anti-Money Laundering Checks

David Cameron promised to stop scammers and kleptocrats hiding behind British shell companies. But almost one in ten UK firms still do not declare ‘persons of significant control’

U.S. States Just Lost Pipeline Veto Rights And That’s A Big Deal For Oil

The EPA issued new regulations on pipeline approvals that narrow state authority to intervene. But the fight may not be over.

Hubert Horan: What Will it Take to Save the Airlines?

The airlines are facing an existential crisis, yet no one in power is inclinded or even equipped to intervene.

The Federal Reserve’s Coronavirus Crisis Actions, Explained (Part 7)

This is part 7 of my ongoing coverage of the Federal Reserve’s Coronavirus actions.

5 Ways to Make Voting Easier for Everyone in America—Even in a Pandemic

Not surprisingly, unfriendly voting methods have a lot to do with the US having the lowest turnout rates among developed countries.