We simply have to face the fact that banking is fundamentally risky. As I decided long ago when working in banks, the reason we needed to wear dark suits and have classic buildings was to look conservative in order to offset the real riskiness of what we were doing. 

Jefferson County, Alabama, may become the largest municipal bankruptcy in history. According to one of our panelists, “Jefferson County has to declare bankruptcy. The county needs protection from creditors, from bankers, from politicians--and from itself.” Having issued $3.2 billion in adjustable-rate sewer bonds, Jefferson County--in an attempt to hedge its...

"Fair Value" accounting is not a fact. It is a theory that has had enormously damaging real world results.

Companies should be permitted to publish pre-fair-value accounting statements as well as marked-to-market balance sheets, which would offer investors multiple perspectives on firms' financial health.

A reason frequently given for financial market behavior in recent years is the belief that the Fed will bail out the market's mistakes.

The new Public-Private Investment Program looks similar to, and faces the same technical challenges as, plans proposed by then-treasury secretary Paulson last year.

The conceptual deficiencies of the fair value accounting theory make it a poor choice for most companies as an accounting standard.

The trading of derivatives perform a valuable economic function in facilitating the efficient allocation of financial risks, and thereby improve the performance of the economy.