Export-related jobs are a huge and important driver of the U.S. economy, and the record of the Ex-Im Bank is clear: Using private funds and with minimal exposure to taxpayers, it has been a major driver of U.S. exports and a driver of jobs and corporate profits in the United States.

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.

One of the many requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act is that all federal agencies must remove references to and reliance on credit ratings from their regulations and replace them with alternative methods for evaluating creditworthiness. 

Hope springs eternal among policy makers in Europe’s beleaguered periphery. At five minutes to midnight in Athens, and with a bank run having started in Madrid, these policy makers cling to the forlorn hope that somehow Germany is going to relent on its strong opposition to euro bonds.

After a post I did earlier this week on Congress caving on Central Bank of Iran sanctions, I got a grumpy call from my buds at AIPAC. No, they had not “sided with the Obama administration” as I claimed, except in the case of a couple of technical changes to the Menendez-Kirk amendment and one substantial change.

Hill conferees filed the National Defense Authorization bill last night, which means the conference agreed upon final language. The bill has enjoyed its share of controversy over a detainee provision, but another viciously fought battle included a provision to sanction the Central Bank of Iran. You remember the Central Bank?

The $2 billion loss at JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has reopened debate on the Volcker rule. The proponents of the rule have seized on the story as proof that the Volcker rule is necessary and should be quickly put into effect by regulation. In reality, however, if the facts are as thus far reported, what happened at JPMorgan is proof that the Volcker rule is unworkable and should be repealed. 

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.