Panel Examines Role of Derivatives in Crisis

The complex instruments at the heart of the financial meltdown, and the way two giant companies were wrapped around them and entwined with each other, are being examined by the special panel investigating the origins of the economic crisis. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission is turning its focus to derivatives at two days of hearings starting Wednesday.... Read more...

Wall Street’s Control Over Derivative Exchanges

The financial reform bill seeks to curb Wall Street’s taste for derivatives by moving most swap trading to regulated clearinghouses. Yet a provision quietly dropped from the legislation last week could cement big banks’ control over the very exchanges that are intended to make the capital markets safer. Under pressure from the financial industry,... Read more...