The U.S. House of representatives just passed a financial reform
bill to at least reduce the likely hood and severity of future
financial contractions.

For text of bill [1279 pages!!] see
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-...73ih.t xt.pdf

While I have not examined every page, it appears that the mega
banks are exempted from many of the more restrictive provisions,
and legitimate users of commodity hedging such as air lines
[fuel] and grain [ADM/Cargill] are exempted from
derivative/futures regulation without limit. FWIW -- I will be
writing my Senators urging a limit of 5%-10% of total gross
operating revenue at which point the companies become fully
subject to the regulation. The intent of this exemption was to
allow companies to stabilize their input prices, not engage in
speculation.

There seems to be very little actual teeth in the bill in the
form of jail time, fines, asset forfeiture, or revocation of
corporate charter. The only place I could find imprisonment
mentioned was page 1198 and that only for SIPC membership
representation.

Half a loaf is better than none, but still no Glass-Steagall.


Unka George (George McDuffee)
...............................
The past is a foreign country;
they do things differently there.
L. P. Hartley (1895-1972), British author.
The Go-Between, Prologue (1953).