Regulatory backlash

In the wake of the credit crunch, regulators and industry groups have been falling over themselves to find ways to prevent similar problems from occurring again

China and international law

China’s human rights record is being denounced, but does Beijing do any better on international legal issues that cut to the heart of the world economy?

Despondent consumers

Consider how life has changed for the US consumer. Booming home prices have tanked. Petrol has jumped to $4 in some areas. Scary stories of rice rationing highlight mounting inflation

The SEC and market rumours

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled with
a Wall Street trader accused of spreading false rumours concerning Blackstone’s bid for Alliance Data Systems

US regional banks

This was supposed to be the year of big mergers between regional US banks but what better than a lending crisis to sort out an overpopulated sector?

Ambac whacked

Remember the monolines? Before Bear Stearns took centre stage, embattled bond insurers represented the biggest worry on Wall Street. Ambac’s latest results should help to drag back the spotlight

The safety of dividends

Companies can fake earnings and be wildly over optimistic. But dividends, it is argued, are impossible to make up and, for a diversified basket of stocks, hardly ever fall

Leverage and RBS

Being a “Royal” bank means not apologising to your subjects. The court view is that the £12bn rights issue announced by RBS was not a result of management wrongdoing

Capital raising

Warburg’s $15bn fund

ADS sues Blackstone

Imaginary kingdoms

Samsung boss indicted

Repairing Wall Street

Helping UK banks

Measuring bank capital

JPMorgan’s strength

Tax and write-offs

Broker-dealer funding

Zone of insolvency

Merging the SEC and CFTC

Wall Street regulation

Pay package polls