Ban index funds, ETFs to rein in oil prices: groups- Roberta Rampton (Reuters) April 5, 2012 “Lawmakers should ban commodity index funds and exchange-traded funds, a coalition of consumer and public interest groups said on Thursday, blaming the speculative investment vehicles for surging oil and
Americans for Financial Reform will host a conference call for reporters and bloggers on Today at 12:00 PM EDT to discuss the impact of Wall Street speculation on gas prices. Wall Street gambling is driving up gas prices and putting a strain on the economic recovery and the pocket-books of working families and the middle class.
Conservative Candidate Supports Wall Street Speculation Tax – Sarah Anderson (Huffington Post) April 4, 2012 “The Obama administration shifted to a neutral stance on the European proposal last fall but they have not yet expressed support for taxing speculation here in the land of Wall
Ralph Nader: Open Letter To President Obama On Jobs Acts – OpEd – Ralph Nader (Eurasia Review) April 2, 2012 “The so-called JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act is not a true job creation bill – it is a ravenous beast in sheep’s clothing. The
Click here to view this week’s highlights and lowlights in Wall Street Reform – March 24, 2012 – March, 30, 2012. Please note: Compiling and distributing ‘This Week in Wall Street Reform’ will be in a period of transition in the coming weeks, so please bear
“On the eve of Tax Day, as millions of Americans are still struggling with hard times and worrying about how to pay the IRS, some of the most prominent players on Wall Street held a press conference announcing that they were stepping up to support a financial speculation tax to “pay their fair” share and help put America back to work.”
“It’s par for the course for the GOP-controlled House to pass bills that few people notice and that ultimately go nowhere. But it’s rare for legislators to join hands across the aisle to roll back parts of President Obama’s signature legislative achievements. That’s what happened on Monday, when the House passed two little-noticed bills that changed the derivatives rules under the Dodd-Frank Act. … But critics of the bills, like Americans for Financial Reform, believe that the legislation could make substantive changes to Dodd-Frank that would increase risk and instability in the marketplace.”
As most Americans struggle to pay their share, we can’t help but notice that Wall Street is not. Many of the economic problems we face today, from deficits to unemployment, were in large part created by reckless and excessive speculation on Wall Street. It is therefore
AFR sent a letter to the House voicing our strong opposition to HR 2586, the “Swaps Execution Facility Clarification Act”. HR 2586 would undermine a key element of derivatives reform – the attempt to create transparent, competitive markets for previously ‘dark’ over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.
“The report was commissioned by Morgan Stanley, one of the big banks lobbying to ease the regulation. But IHS maintains its analysis, content and conclusions are entirely independent. …However, Americans for Financial Reform, an advocacy coalition supporting the legislation, took issue with the report. ‘This is just the latest in a series of industry-funded studies ordered up by financial market interests expressly to undermine the Volcker Rule,’ executive director Lisa Donner told CNBC in response to a question. ‘They don’t want to have to stop the profitable and risky proprietary trading that the Volcker rule bans, and they are grasping at straws to protect the status quo.’”