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Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: News
Bush administration proposes sweeping overhaul of financial regulation
1 WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul of the way the nation's financial industry is regulated.
In an effort to deal with the problems highlighted by the current severe credit crisis, the new plan would give major new powers to the Federal Reserve, according to a 22-page executive summary obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
The proposal would designate the Fed as the primary regulator of market stability, greatly expanding the central bank's ability to examine not just commercial banks but all segments of the financial services industry.
The administration proposal, which is to be formally unveiled in a speech Monday by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, also proposes consolidating the current scheme of bank regulation.
The plan would shut down the Office of Thrift Supervision, which supervises thrift institutions, and transfer its functions to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates banks. The plan would eliminate the distinction between banks and thrift institutions.
Zimbabweans vote in election seen as biggest test to Mugabe's 28-year rule
2 HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Zimbabweans voted Saturday on whether to keep the ruler blamed by opponents for their country's economic collapse, though President Robert Mugabe's challengers claimed the election was rigged even before the polls opened.
The main opposition party said it was investigating reports of thousands of voters being turned away from polls and the discovery of stuffed ballot boxes in one district. African observers also questioned thousands of names on official rolls.
The election presented Mugabe with the toughest political challenge to his 28-year rule. He dismissed allegations that the vote was rigged to keep him in power.
"I cannot sleep with a clear conscience if there is any cheating," Mugabe, 84, said after voting and promising to respect results. "If you lose an election and are rejected by the people, it is time to leave politics."
1 WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul of the way the nation's financial industry is regulated.
In an effort to deal with the problems highlighted by the current severe credit crisis, the new plan would give major new powers to the Federal Reserve, according to a 22-page executive summary obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
The proposal would designate the Fed as the primary regulator of market stability, greatly expanding the central bank's ability to examine not just commercial banks but all segments of the financial services industry.
The administration proposal, which is to be formally unveiled in a speech Monday by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, also proposes consolidating the current scheme of bank regulation.
The plan would shut down the Office of Thrift Supervision, which supervises thrift institutions, and transfer its functions to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates banks. The plan would eliminate the distinction between banks and thrift institutions.
Zimbabweans vote in election seen as biggest test to Mugabe's 28-year rule
2 HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Zimbabweans voted Saturday on whether to keep the ruler blamed by opponents for their country's economic collapse, though President Robert Mugabe's challengers claimed the election was rigged even before the polls opened.
The main opposition party said it was investigating reports of thousands of voters being turned away from polls and the discovery of stuffed ballot boxes in one district. African observers also questioned thousands of names on official rolls.
The election presented Mugabe with the toughest political challenge to his 28-year rule. He dismissed allegations that the vote was rigged to keep him in power.
"I cannot sleep with a clear conscience if there is any cheating," Mugabe, 84, said after voting and promising to respect results. "If you lose an election and are rejected by the people, it is time to leave politics."
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