BankThink

Receiving Wide Coverage ... A Look Behind the Curtain: The Fed held a video conference in March to discuss whether to ditch its 6.5% unemployment rate target. The Financial Times said the meeting helped shape the Fed's decision later in the month to adjust its position on forward guidance. The policymakers were concerned that their decision would be misunderstood. Meanwhile, Fed officials are worried about persistently low inflation. Â...

There's drama to come as regulators finalize a proposal requiring banks to self-assess their track records on diversity.

Care deeply about the price at which you make an investment, whether it's in your own shares or another company's. Don't delude yourself about how great the future will be. And look for empirical evidence that you have an "edge", rather than simply assuming it.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Leveraging Up: Regulators are slated to finalize a new rule on Tuesday mandating the amount of loss-absorbing capital big banks must hold on their books. Banking agencies last summer proposed raising the leverage ratio to 5% for bank holding companies and 6% for their insured subsidiaries. Those figures are expected to hold steady at the final vote, though how the ratio is calculated could be fine-tuned. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, American...

A new book from Nomi Prins illustrates how the Wall Street-Washington symbiosis - the subject of much debate in the wake of the recent financial crisis - has existed for over a century.