Financial regulators are expected to approve a version of the Volcker Rule next Tuesday that is more powerful than Republicans and Wall Street lobbyists would have liked. Jamie Dimon, the chief of JPMorgan Chase and one of the most outspoken critics of the rule, deserves some of the credit for its passage.
“Paul Volcker by his own admission has said he doesn’t understand capital markets,†Mr. Dimon told Fox Business last year. “He has proven that to me.â€
That was less than three months before JPMorgan’s $6 billion London trading loss fueled a round of Schadenfreude among supporters of tighter industry regulation. “It plays into the hands of a bunch of pundits,†Mr. Dimon acknowledged when the loss was disclosed.
The year after the London trading loss, JPMorgan spun off its last remaining private equity unit. The decision was said to reflect an emphasis on client businesses over making investments.
A look back on our reporting of the past week’s highs and lows in finance.
FRIDAY, DEC. 6
Sears to Spin Off Lands’ End | The spinoff of the company would follow Sears’s sale of another business, Sears Home and Outlet Stores. DealBook »
THURSDAY, DEC. 5
In the Murky World of Bitcoin, Fraud Is Quicker Than the Law | Government authorities do not agree on which laws apply to Bitcoin â€" or even on what Bitcoin is. DealBook »
Investors, Dismayed by Losses at Sears, Pull Money From Hedge Fund | The storied investing empire of Edward S. Lampert is shrinking. DealBook »
Lively Debate on Proxy Firms’ Influence | The Securities and Exchange Commission hosted a round-table discussion that examined the influence of proxy advisers, potential conflicts of interest, and the transparency and accuracy of their recommendations. DealBook »
SAC Witness Concedes Omission on Illicit Data | Jon Horvath conceded that he never explicitly told Michael S. Steinberg that data he had obtained about Dell was illicit insider information. DealBook »
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 4
Europe Sets Big Fines In Settling Libor Case | Demonstrating a new resolve to punish bank misconduct, the European Union fined a group of global financial institutions a combined $2.3 billion. DealBook »
Treasury Chief to Declare Big Gains in Financial Reform | The broad policy speech is intended to signal the administration’s views on financial regulations. DealBook »
Top Witness in SAC Case Can’t Recall Some Points | Jon Horvath struggled to recall how he came to learn that a friend, who was an analyst at another hedge fund, was passing on illegal inside information about Dell Inc. DealBook »
Wall Street Challenges Overseas Swaps Rules | Banking trade groups filed a lawsuit that challenges new guidelines put in place recently by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. DealBook »
TUESDAY, DEC. 3
Rule Named for Volcker Approaches Completion | Five federal agencies plan to approve a tougher-than-expected version of the rule next week, providing Wall Street with some much-sought clarity. DealBook »
Unexpected Apology Stokes Embers of a Feud | A dispute over ratings Sean Egan’s company gave Richard B. Handler’s bank in 2012 may have subsided, but the two men are no closer to seeing eye to eye. DealBook »
Trader’s Defense Lawyer Challenges the Recollections of a Crucial Witness | Jon Horvath was unable to recall when he created a document titled “Jon’s trading rules†and when he wrote some of the rules for himself. DealBook »
Deal Professor: Battling in Gray Areas of Law in a Bid to Control a Rival | In his effort to acquire LightSquared in bankruptcy court, Charles Ergen has taken advantage of every gray area in the law, writes Steven M. Davidoff. DealBook »
MONDAY, DEC. 2
A Second Act in Hedge Funds for a Top Wall Street Banker | J. Tomilson Hill, a well-known Wall Street deal maker in the 1980s, has reinvented himself by applying his deal-making skills to the Blackstone Group. DealBook »
New York Subpoenas Websites in an Effort to Curb Payday Lenders | Government authorities are trying to choke off the supply of borrowers to online lenders that offer short-term loans with annual interest rates of more than 400 percent. DealBook »
Goldman and JPMorgan Satisfy Fed With Capital Plans | Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have finally overcome a regulatory rebuke that had been hanging over both banks since the Federal Reserve performed stress tests this year on large financial firms. DealBook »
Witness Recounts Pressure From Trader for More Data | “Nice job on Dell,†Steven A. Cohen, SAC’s billionaire founder, wrote in an email to Michael S. Steinberg and Jon Horvath in the summer of 2008. DealBook »
SUNDAY, DEC. 1
Quiet Boss at Citigroup Setting Tone for Wall St. | Flying under the radar appears to be just fine with Michael L. Corbat â€" and with the financial giant he has run since October 2012. DealBook »
WEEK IN VERSE
Southern Man | If Neil Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd could eventually get along, surely Sean Egan and Richard B. Handler can come together. YouTube »
