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Simplify the Volcker Rule instead of weakening it

The Trump administration is drawing up a proposal to simplify the Volcker Rule, one of the most controversial pieces of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform. This could be a desirable development, as long as it doesn’t weaken a crucial safeguard against gambling with taxpayers’ money. The Volcker Rule has a worthy goal: Limit government subsidies to financial institutions. When authorities ...

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India must think twice before busting its ailing banks

India seems intent on cleaning up a banking sector that’s plagued by bad loans and high-profile scams. The question is how damaging the cure will turn out to be. On May 13, federal investigators went after Usha Ananthasubramanian, currently the head of state-run Allahabad Bank, filing formal charges over her alleged involvement in a multi-billion dollar fraud involving celebrity jeweler ...

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Mahathir must temper his contempt for markets

Mahathir Mohamad blamed everyone except himself and his policies for his country’s entanglement in the 1997 Asian crisis. It appears two decades haven’t been enough to mellow the Malaysian leader. The 92-year-old prime minister has won an unexpected second shot at a job he retired from in 2003. But his contempt for markets is still intact. No, he hasn’t returned ...

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