From the perspective of the corporate profit and loss statement, a trading loss is one expense item in the context of all revenues and expenses. So $2 billion should be compared to the bank's $26.7 billion in pretax profits for 2011, suggesting a reduction of something less than 10 percent in annual profit.

It’s depressing to watch, but it is missing the point that the Volcker rule would not have prevented the loss and is probably unworkable.

American Enterprise Institute economist Peter Wallison explains why the recent JP Morgan losses are proof that the Volcker Rule is unworkable and should be abandoned.

In a just-published piece in Tax Notes, AEI economists Kevin Hassett and Alan Viard explain how targeted tax increases on big oil companies pose significant risks to the economy.

How do civil society organizations operate in the authoritarian environment of Vladimir Putin’s “sovereign democracy?”  To what extent are they able to further their causes despite pervasive corruption and the rule of courts that take their cues from the Kremlin?

The White House has proposed a “Buffett Rule” mandating that taxpayers earning more than $1 million pay at least 30% of their income in federal income taxes. The unfairness the Obama administration has identified is only one limited, albeit  eye-catching, manifestation of more systemic problems in the tax code.

The "Buffett Rule's" stated goal of making millionaires pay the same tax rates as the middle class is appealing. Unfortunately, the proposal is based on inaccurate claims about the tax system and its enactment would penalize the investment that fuels long-run economic growth.

Prohibiting their bond trading will seriously weaken banks and the markets that banks supply with liquidity.