Matthew Goldstein of Reuters looks at the thicket the Federal Reserve finds itself in because of its assumption of all those junk assets from Bear Stearns. They’re “drawing the Fed into conflicts with commercial developers or into uneasy partnerships with some of the banks it regulates.” But, of course, the “lawsuits are a fee bonanza for the high-priced law firms that the Fed is paying to litigate these cases on behalf.” I’m just fascinated to know the Fed owns Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City. Good luck with that one, Ben!
— The Wall Street Journal follows the Associated Press on the Geithner calls to Wall Street—and doesn’t credit the AP. Not cool. It does, though, add BlackRock into the mix of frequent Geithner correspondents.
— The Washington Post video interviews Elizabeth Warren. “The Treasury Department on behalf of the taxpayer was tough on the auto industry… They were not tough on the banks. And I want to know why.”
—The Journal writes about the debate among Democrats about whether to let states regulate national banks. The feds, under preemption, squelched states’ aggressive pursuit of predatory lending right when the bubble really took off.
Ryan Chittum is a former Wall Street Journal reporter, and deputy editor of The Audit, CJR’s business section. If you see notable business journalism, give him a heads-up at rc2538@columbia.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @ryanchittum.