Receiving Wide Coverage ...
Ease on Down the Road: Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the Fed's asset purchases and signaled they will continue until the job market firms up. He addressed concerns that by driving down interest rates for a long period of time, the Fed's easing encourages inappropriate risk-taking: While the central bank is cognizant of that danger, he said, low rates "also serve in some ways to reduce risk in the system, most importantly by encouraging firms to rely more on longer-term funding, and by reducing debt service costs for households and businesses."
JPMorgan: At its annual investor day, the bank disclosed plans to cut 17,000 jobs by the end of next year. CEO Jamie Dimon also disputed the notion that JPMorgan enjoys a lower cost of funds due to the perception that it is too big to be allowed to fail. "We pay market prices when we borrow money," he declared, according to the FT. And if you followed American Banker National Editor Maria Aspan
Wall Street Journal
"Builders Fuel Home Sale Rise" — "Developers Overlook Buyers' Credit, Cash Problems, Luring Them to Pricier Houses." No, this isn't a flashback to 2006. New home sales are surging, and while one reason is that investors have scooped up the inventory of existing homes, another factor is that "the nation's home builders have mastered the art of selling. … [M]ore home builders have offered to pay closing costs and arrange
"Regulators investigating alleged interest-rate manipulation are hoping to reach settlements with at least three major financial institutions" — Rabobank, Lloyd's and ICAP - "by
Financial Times
"US banks enjoy best profits since 2006" — Fourth-quarter industry report card from the FDIC, which warns that the
New York Times
"S.E.C. Nominee Tries to Allay Skepticism" — Mary Jo White wages a "
"Wall Street Pay Rises, for Those Who Still Have a Job," according to
Remember the debate in late 2011 over a proposed "
Dodd-Frank's mandatory "