I am looking into those myself any recs?
Meanwhile there is hope on the horizon for the derivatives mess
Geithner may have been reading your posts.
* MAY 14, 2009
U.S. Moves to Regulate Derivatives Trade
Geithner Lays Out Plans of Framework for Multitrillion-Dollar Market; Agency Consolidation?
Federal regulators outlined plans to regulate the giant market for derivatives, a move aimed at avoiding a repeat of the turmoil created last year by certain financial institutions whose risk-taking in exotic financial instruments went largely unchecked.
Under a proposed raft of reforms, regulators could be given authority to force many standard over-the-counter derivatives to be traded on regulated exchanges and electronic-trading platforms. That would make it easier to see prices and make markets more transparent.
Firms with large derivative exposures or that trade more-complex derivatives would be subject to new reporting requirements. The proposal also calls for all standardized derivatives to go through clearinghouses that will guarantee trades and help cushion the impact of a collapse of a large financial institution.
The regulatory overhauls are in response to growing concerns of outsize risk and leverage among derivatives that trade directly between pairs of firms. Much trading in this market, estimated to total hundreds of trillions of dollars, now happens privately, and contracts are typically negotiated over the phone.
More
* Treasury statement
* Letter to Reid from Geithner
* China Ahead of Derivatives Curve
The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 allowed most derivatives to escape U.S. federal regulation, but the scale of problems at American International Group Inc., which had dabbled heavily in derivatives, and the financial crisis has caused lawmakers and regulators to rethink that position.
Federal officials, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, have said they intend to bring derivatives into the regulatory orbit. Wednesday's proposal, which was laid out in a two-page letter to Congress, was the first time officials added details to their bare-bones ideas.
The move, the latest step to tighten federal regulation of finance, is designed to address markets such as those for credit-default swaps, which many say exacerbated the financial crisis. Any such moves would require congressional approval.
"Reporting those positions will address the primary concerns of the market, about who is trading what derivatives," said Joel Telpner, a derivatives lawyer at Mayer Brown in New York.
Also Wednesday, Mr. Geithner said the Treasury would soon release a separate plan to simplify which agencies oversee financial markets, a move that could bring sweeping change to the alphabet-soup of regulatory bodies.
cont at online.wsj.com |
