Wall Street bets big on Romney
Washington (CNNMoney) - Wall Street has thrown its weight behind alum Mitt Romney for president, according to new campaign data for 2011.
But the industry hasn't totally abandoned President Obama, who in 2008 raised more money from the financial industry than any other candidate in history, according to two watchdog groups.
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Wall Street pays big to influence Washington
Washington (CNNMoney) - Financial industry spending to influence Washington topped $150 million for the second year in a row, with emphasis shifting to regulators of the Dodd-Frank reform law, according to watchdog groups.
Lobbying by investment firms hit $98 million, down a little from the record $101 million spent in 2010 when the Wall Street reform bill became law, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
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S&P: Washington criticism is a 'smoke screen'
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) - Standard & Poor's, the credit rating agency that lowered the grade on the federal government's credit worthiness, continued its defense of its move Monday, calling Washington criticism a "smoke screen."
"This idea that we made a $2 trillion error is simply a smoke screen for the unhappiness, in our view, about our decision," said David Beers, S&P's global head of sovereign ratings, in an interview on CNN's "America Morning."
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Students to feel pinch in debt deal
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) - Some students will have to start paying off their loans while they're in school under a last-minute debt ceiling deal to keep the country out of default and reduce deficits by at least $2.1 trillion over a decade.
As part of the savings to trim the deficits, Congress would scrap a special kind of federal loan for graduate students. So-called subsidized student loans don't charge students any interest on the principal of student loans until six months after students graduated.
FULL STORYWhat's in the Wall Street bill
Washington (CNNMoney.com) - The Senate's final version of Wall Street reform runs close to 1,600 pages.
It takes a broad swipe at the rules that govern the financial sector. It aims to prevent future financial crises. It establishes a new consumer regulatory agency. It throws down new rules on complex financial products and creates a new way for the government to take over failing financial firms.
The bill, which the Senate passed Thursday night, must now be reconciled with a similar measure the House approved last December.
Here's a breakdown of key measures in the Senate legislation.
Wall Street reform: Washington's next battle
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/04/14/art.dc.gi.jpg caption="With the health care fight and two weeks at home behind it, Congress is taking on proposals to reform Wall Street and prevent future financial collapses."]Washington (CNNMoney.com) - With the health care fight and two weeks at home behind it, Congress is taking on proposals to reform Wall Street and prevent future financial collapses.
Nothing has really changed since the Senate Banking panel passed an overhaul measure along party lines in late March – except that the rhetoric on both sides has sharpened.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, came out swinging Tuesday, slamming Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd's bill as a "perpetual taxpayer bailout of Wall Street banks."
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Pell grants on the line
Washington (CNNMoney.com) - On Sunday, the House is set to vote on an historic overhaul of the nation's health care system. It will also take up an issue that will get far less attention but could affect the wallets of millions of Americans.
The nation's popular Pell grant program, which provides federal grants to millions of Americans based on financial need, is facing a $19 billion budget gap.
The economic downturn is a big part of the cause. Federal officials who run the program were caught off guard by the sheer number of people who went back to school and earned low enough incomes to qualify for the grants. They underestimated the number of recipients for this year by 765,000.
$1 billion 'cash for clunkers' passed
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) - The Senate on Thursday passed a $1 billion effort to subsidize new auto sales by giving vouchers toward the purchase of new cars.
President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill.
The "cash for clunkers" measure was attached to the $106 billion war spending bill that was approved by the Senate late Thursday. It drew some opposition from lawmakers who were opposed to spending more money on the auto industry.
The measure would give consumers vouchers worth as much as $4,500 to turn in gas guzzlers and buy new cars that are more fuel efficient.
Bailout watchdogs: We want more info
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/03/31/art.getty.money.jpg caption="The officials were particularly angered about a lack of accounting for the sprawling program, complaining that Treasury didn't make any effort to monitor money that went to the 364 banks its has invested in, despite requests for information by oversight panels."]NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – The officials charged with overseeing the $700 billion financial bailout told lawmakers Tuesday that the Treasury Department must do more to ensure that taxpayer dollars are properly spent and that the public is kept in the loop.
The officials were particularly angered about a lack of accounting for the sprawling program, complaining that Treasury didn't make any effort to monitor money that went to the 364 banks its has invested in, despite requests for information by oversight panels.
"Either you get Treasury to get some religion on this point and get some standards ... or Congress [will be] forced to step in," said Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren, chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel, at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
The office of Inspector General for the TARP program, one of the oversight groups, did its own survey of banks that received money, and every bank that got money responded.
Neil Barofsky, special inspector general, said that some banks "co-mingled" their bailout money and couldn't break out exactly what it was used for. But other banks kept their TARP money separate and could point to new loans that had been issued due to government help.
"Some banks described some lending programs that couldn't be done without TARP funding," Barofsky said.
AIG's Liddy: 'I share that anger'
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/03/18/art.getty.edward.libby.jpg caption="Edward Liddy, chief executive of bailed out insurer American International Group, will tell Congress Wednesday that he found the company's controversial bonuses 'distasteful,' but necessary because of legal obligations and competition."]WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) - Edward Liddy, chief executive of bailed out insurer American International Group, will tell Congress Wednesday that he found the company's controversial bonuses "distasteful," but necessary because of legal obligations and competition, according to a written copy of his testimony.
"We have to continue managing our business as a business - taking account of the cold realities of competition," Liddy will tell the House Financial Services subcommittee. The hearing is set to begin at 10 a.m.
"Because of this, and because of certain legal obligations, AIG has recently made a set of compensation payments, some of which I find distasteful," he added.
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