Financial Regulatory Forum

By Jonathan Spicer
NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) – New York’s attorney general, probing illegal marketing and sales of auction rate securities, intends to charge Charles Schwab Corp  with civil fraud and has reached a settlement with rival TD Ameritrade Holding Corp, his office said on Monday. (more…)

STOCKHOLM, July 20 (Reuters) – Iceland took a step towards clearing the debris of its financial meltdown on Monday, unveiling a deal with creditors of its failed banks and plans to capitalise the new ones. (more…)

   By Emma Thomasson
   ZURICH, July 19 (Reuters) – The Swiss foreign minister is due to meet U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on July 31, just days before a deadline to reach a settlement in a damaging U.S. tax case against UBS.
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    LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) – Disagreements between Paris and London over the regulation of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets could drive business to the United States, a top French regulator told the Financial Times on Monday.
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LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) – British regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) should be abolished and the Bank of England put in full charge of regulating financial institutions, opposition Conservatives said.
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By Randall Palmer
OTTAWA, July 17 (Reuters) – The Canadian government took U.S. Steel Corp to court on Friday over production cutbacks at its Stelco subsidiary, Industry Minister Tony Clement announced. (more…)

   By Emily Kaiser
   WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) – The Obama administration’s $787 billion stimulus package is working despite rising U.S. unemployment and stabilizing the economy must take precedence over tackling the bloated deficit, a top White House economic adviser said on Friday.

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By Zhou Xin and Simon Rabinovitch
BEIJING, July 17 (Reuters) – China’s $2 trillion stockpile of foreign exchange reserves, the world’s largest, is diversified despite the vast amount held in U.S. Treasuries, the Chinese central bank chief said on Friday.
Zhou Xiaochuan’s apparent satisfaction with China’s current dollar-heavy investment portfolio contrasted with calls he has made this year for a new super-sovereign currency to end the greenback’s dominance. (more…)

By Kevin Drawbaugh
WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) – A lobbying group for the U.S. securities industry said on Friday it supports an Obama administration proposal to hold brokers to a higher fiduciary standard — matching that of investment advisers — when they give personalized advice to clients. (more…)

   By Kevin Drawbaugh
   WASHINGTON, July 16 (Reuters) – With the smell of fat bonus checks again wafting down Wall Street, the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress on Thursday moved closer to a clampdown on U.S. corporate executive pay.
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