Regulation

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday it has suspended MF Global Inc., a subsidiary of MF Global Holdings Ltd., from conducting new business with it.

Photos of a Halloween office party at a foreclosure law firm, obtained by the Times' Joe Nocera, are nearly as appalling as the Abu Ghraib torture pics.

Wells Fargo & Co. became the largest big bank to abandon plans to start charging customers for using their debit cards, in the wake of a widespread backlash against new bank fees.

The Occupy Wall Street protestors have been invited to participate in the Greenwich Village Halloween parade, and have set up a website encouraging their members to dress the part.

Did Elizabeth Warren make a serious political misstep on the campaign trail last week? Warren backed off of statements she made that her work over the years had "created much of the intellectual foundation" for the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Since retiring from the Senate in January, Chris Dodd for months maintained a public silence about the landmark financial reform legislation that bears his name.

On Oct. 25 MetLife announced that the Federal Reserve had denied its request for approval of its capital distribution plan that included a dividend increase and resumption of stock repurchases. Likely it is a reflection of a prudent regulator. Rather than make an isolated determination on a single company, the Fed probably prefers to await results from its planned 2012 cross-institution analysis of the largest U.S. bank holding companies. MetLife's participation in that analysis underscores its systemic importance.

Obstacles and opportunities for banks in calls for consumers to move their money.

It's not just banks that are raising prices after changes to the rates that merchants pay to accept debit cards — on Thursday, Coinstar's Redbox DVD rental service said debit fees are driving its prices up by 20 cents a day. Other kiosk-based businesses may have to follow its example.

Advances across the 12-Bank cooperative fell again during the third quarter, according to the Office of Finance for the Federal Home Loan Banks.