Debit card "swipe fees" were one way that banks made billions of dollars a year. These fees were paid by retailers every time you used your debit card. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, Congress cut these fees significantly, to the great relief of merchants across the country. The Fed is now facing an April deadline to write the rules for the current lower fees, and banks are waging a war to try to reverse these cuts. Louise Story, Wall Street and finance reporter for The New York Times, explains how new rules could impact you as a consumer.
Even as lawmakers implement the fiscal reform passed by Congress, a tiny handful of banks exert the lion's share of control over the lucrative derivatives market — and they do so both secretly and exclusively. As consumers, we pay for derivatives every day when we buy nearly anything, from food to airplane tickets to heat for our homes. A little regulation and transparency could reduce giant fees paid to banks, and put billions of dollars back into the economy. So why does the running of these markets remain so securely hidden?
Will the cost of our national debt drop soon as a result of the recently passed banking reform? And will that change the political debate in Washington over raising our debt ceiling?
It's Monday, which means it's time to take a look at what's ahead this week in the agenda with the help of Marcus Mabry, associate national editor for The New York Times, and Charlie Herman, The Takeaway and WNYC's economics editor.
Newsweek columnist Dan Gross on the stock market's response to the financial regulations bill; headlines.
Congress will face public pressure this week as it tackles a series of hot-button issues. In the House, the Financial Services Committee has called for a hearing on the "flash crash" that took place last Thursday when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 1,000 points in just 30 minutes. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is hoping to get the financial reform bill complete by the end of the week.
The Senate is scheduled to vote today on whether to begin work on the finance regulatory overhaul bill, which President Obama promoted in New York last week. If Democrats have their way, the Senate will proceed to a debate on the bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Chris Dodd. Otherwise, the bill, S.3217, will stall and require more negotiations.
We take a look at what's ahead this week, with Marcus Mabry, associate national editor of The New York Times, and Latoya Peterson, editor of the blog Racialicious.
Every week, our own Todd Zwillich walks the halls of power in Washington D.C. and brings back an interview for our podcast, "Power Players." This week, Sen. John Thune (R-SD) talks about the chances for bipartisan financial reform.
The financial regulatory reform bill is moving quickly through Congress this week, having already passed the House. But Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich looks at one of biggest flash points as the Senate debates the bill: Derivatives. It's an industry worth about $500-600 trillion and has remained largely free of regulation up to know. Todd explains how Congress is trying to bring sunlight to a typically murky practice.
At companies deemed too big to fail, there's a delicate balance to be found between paying enough to retain talented staff and soothing public anger about big taxpayer bailouts. "Pay Czar" Kenneth Feinberg (he dislikes the term, but it's stuck) believes he’s getting the balance right.
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