Senators Bid to Regulate Hedge Funds

[groovedaddy]

WASHINGTON — Two senior senators introduced legislation on Thursday to impose government oversight of hedge funds.

The legislation by Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, and Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, was filed as the Obama administration was preparing a broader legislative overhaul of the regulatory system, including an effort to more tightly regulate hedge funds.

State regulators and a panel created by Congress to oversee the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program issued separate but similar regulatory proposals on Thursday. The proposals also seemed to closely mirror many of the provisions that administration officials say will be part of their plan.

The regulatory overhaul is one piece of the administration’s effort to restore confidence in the financial system.

Other pieces include a stimulus bill that the House passed on Wednesday and that is moving through the Senate, and an overhaul of the financial assistance program for the nation’s largest banks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/business/30bailout.html?th&emc=th

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

1. That would have been a great idea 20 years ago.

Now it's more like trying to slap some duct tape on a leaky inflatable raft.