Sam Knight - page 9

Late last month, without much fanfare, financial regulators voted to relax rules on AIG, the insurance giant synonymous with last decade’s global financial meltdown. The process was done in such hushed tones, according to Democratic Senators, that the decision was first revealed not by the inter-agency body that made it–the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC)–but by an industry trade association. “The timing…indicates that insurance industry representatives and others individuals learned of the decision to de-designate AIG before it was announced publicly,” Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)… Keep Reading

A hallmark of the Obama administration has been blasted by the Treasury Department—for issuing regulations that guarantee Americans’ right to sue misbehaving Wall Street firms. Treasury on Monday released a report criticizing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for its forced arbitration rule. The paper accused the CFPB of cherry-picking research during its rule-making process, and of effectively seeking to line the pockets of class action lawyers—despite readily admitting that 69 percent of such sums go to plaintiffs. In July, the CFPB finalized its rule, preventing… Keep Reading

An ex-associate of Jack Abramoff picked to serve as number two at the Labor Department was approved by a Senate Committee on Wednesday. Patrick Pizzella, nominee for Deputy Labor Secretary, was advanced on a strict party line vote, along with a handful of other Trump administration political appointees. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.)–who had grilled Pizzella about Abramoff ties during the confirmation hearing–denounced the nominee before Wednesday’s vote. The lawmaker said that Pizzella was unrepentant about his past and offered “misleading answers” to senate staffers, after… Keep Reading

Environmental regulators are telling local officials that it’s okay for the public to be exposed to radiation equivalent to “5,000 chest x-rays,” according to critics. The EPA issued a public guidance in September, advising local officials to respond to a possible nuclear emergency by claiming that 5,000-10,000 millirems exposure “usually result[s] in no harmful health effects.” The watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) said past studies funded by the US government declared that level to be highly carcinogenic. “National Research Council of the National Academy… Keep Reading

President Trump is attempting to relax healthcare rules by fiat after failing repeatedly to pass an Obamacare-rollback law through Congress. The President signed an executive order on Thursday in an effort to allow the propagation of health insurance plans without key requirements mandated by the Affordable Care Act. “Every congressional Democrat has blocked the efforts to save Americans from Obamacare along with a very small, frankly, handful of Republicans,” Trump said. The White House rolled out its decree at a ceremony featuring an introduction from… Keep Reading

An already dire economic situation in Puerto Rico is deteriorating after Hurricane Maria, but the territory isn’t getting any consideration from the House Financial Services Committee. Twenty-three bills were before the panel on Wednesday, amid a deregulatory frenzy overseen by Chair Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas). Legislation included proposals that would weaken consumer protections and federal oversight of unscrupulous lenders. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the committee, criticized the decision to not hold hearings to examine recovery efforts in both Puerto Rico and the… Keep Reading

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to take up the case of an ex-coal baron convicted of fraud and conspiracy after the worst mining accident in decades. Justices denied the opportunity to hear the appeal of Don Blankenship, the former Massey Energy CEO found criminally liable for the 2010 disaster at the Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine in West Virginia. Twenty-nine workers were killed after explosions rocked the mine. Blankenship was convicted in late 2015 for deceiving federal mining and securities regulators and for willfully violating… Keep Reading

Equifax is practically a money printing press, and stands to profit handsomely from its recent loss of sensitive data on almost 150 million Americans, according to the Senate Banking Committee. Questions about Equifax executives making insider trades off the recent breach were among others about the credit rating agency’s possible monetization of its system-wide failure earlier this year, lawmakers told now former-CEO Richard Smith. Both Democrats and Republicans railed at Smith at a hearing on Wednesday, likening Equifax to a bumbling protection racket. They lamented… Keep Reading