Fixing finance:

How to manage the gigantic financial cuckoo in our nest
Martin Wolf, Financial Times, October 20, 2009
This recovery has been no accident. When central bank money is almost free, prices of risky assets are recovering, competitors have disappeared or are weakened, making money is a relatively simple matter for the strong survivors, argues Martin Wolf.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/97e0f540-bda9-11de...amp;_i_referer=

The Best Bonus Buster
Dan Gerstein, Forbes, October 21, 2009
Want to make Wall Street pay? Pass the Half Tax.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/20/wall-stre...ed=rss_opinions

Paul Volcker, Mervyn King, Glass Steagall, and the Real TBTF Problem
Yves Smith, Naked Capitalism, October 21, 2009
Paul Volcker wants to roll the clock back and restore Glass Steagall, the 1933 rule that separated commercial banking from investment banking, but Team Obama is politely ignoring him.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/10/vol...tf-problem.html


When Bad Luck Is a Crime
Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., Wall Street Journal, October 20, 2009
Two Bear Stearns executives pay a high price for being on the wrong side of the hindsight fallacy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ss=rss_opinions

Who's afraid of the free market?
Harold Meyerson, Washington Post, October 21, 2009
In health insurance and on Wall Street, the bogeyman is a free market.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ss=rss_opinions


MBA's Chief Economist Brinkmann on State of Housing
Calculated Risk, October 20, 2009
Emile Brinkmann, MBA Chief Economist, testified today before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs at a hearing titled, "The State of the Nation's Housing Market."
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/10/...n-on-state.html

Fixing finance:

How Paulson gave Goldman the Lehman heads-up
Felix Salmon, Reuters Blogs, October 21, 2009
The secret Paulson-Goldman meeting wasn't the only time that Hank Paulson treated his buddies at Goldman Sachs especially well while at Treasury. In fact, it wasn't the only time he did so before he got the now-famous waiver.
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009...ehman-heads-up/

In Banking, Bigger Is Not Better
Simon Johnson, Economix, October 22, 2009
An economist makes the case for breaking up the big banks.
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/...-is-not-better/

Goldman should be allowed to fail
John Gapper, Financial Times, October 21, 2009
It might sap some resentment if taxpayers could see that Goldman's bonuses were a form of equity partnership, and that the bank would be allowed to founder in any future crisis, writes John Gapper.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4098f426-be6d-11de...amp;_i_referer=

Pay Czar Decides to Collect a Few Scalps, a Sign of Weakness
Yves Smith, Naked Capitalism, October 21, 2009
Does this really mean anything? The press will noise it up as significant (and some outlets will no doubt finger wag at this "interference") but the short answer is no.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/10/pay...f-weakness.html