In This Issue:

Leading the Past Week; Legislative Branch; Executive Branch; and Upcoming Hearings.

Excerpt from Leading the Past Week -

Once again, the markets and Congress came together to offer an interesting juxtaposition, as earlier in the week it seemed like synthetic CDOs, the instrument likened to Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction, were rumored to be making comeback. Then, on Wednesday the House passed legislation to curb the CFTC’s authority to regulate the swaps market, and while the bill isn’t expected to pass the Senate, it was seen as a strong signal to the CFTC about delaying its cross-border swaps rule, which among other things, will impact how US banks with foreign branches, or international based hedge funds will be regulated when participating in the international swaps market. This vote was seen by some as a backtrack for necessary financial reforms, but interestingly, the week closed with news that the efforts to revive the CDOs had failed, perhaps an indicator that the market has learned from its mistakes that nearly cratered the global economy only a few short years ago.