Wall Street, Financial Regulation | featured news

The 2008 financial crisis roiled the banking system and swamped the global economy, leaving millions of Americans jobless, underemployed or facing foreclosure. In its wake, Congress set out to overhaul how the government oversees Wall Street. The result was a sprawling law, the Dodd-Frank Act, which aims to prevent future crises by giving the government new tools and restricting banks' activities. The law may make future crises less likely, but it increases costs for companies, especially banks, and their customers.

Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that a Republican-led effort to loosen new regulations on Wall Street would put voters "back in chains."

The Senate named 12 senators, including tough Wall Street critics and more moderate members, Tuesday to a panel that will finalize the most sweeping overhaul of financial regulations since the 1930s.

Senate Republicans, attacked for twice blocking legislation to rein in Wall Street, floated a partial alternative proposal Tuesday and said it could lead to election-year compromise on an issue that commands strong public support....

President Barack Obama scolded Wall Street on Thursday for its "furious efforts" to fight tighter regulation, saying the United States was doomed to another financial crisis if reforms were not implemented

An overwhelming majority of Americans wants Wall Street subjected to tougher regulation in the aftermath of the bank bailout and the bonus scandals that have rocked the U.S. financial sector, according to a Harris poll released on Thursday.