Nothing like peeling a Band-Aid off slowly… The Treasury concluded its painstaking six-week stress tests late yesterday and announced (gasp) the 19 American banks under stress need to raise $75 billion if they plan to stay in business. Ten of the 19 banks under TARP “protection” will be REQUIRED by the U.S. government to raise capital. They include: Bank of America, Citi, PNC, Fifth Third, GMAC, Wells Fargo and others. Notably absent...

U.S. Senator Kit Bond shifted in his chair at a 2005 congressional hearing, poised with a question on national security. He turned to Treasury Secretary John Snow, who was seated at a witness table. Was Snow sure, asked Bond, a Missouri Republican, that a Treasury Department computer on order for $8.9 million would help detect terrorist money laundering? “Yes, absolutely,” Snow said. A year later, in July 2006, the U.S. Treasury...

This may be the week that Wall Street finally realized a golden era of prestige, high pay and perks has ended. Many bankers felt they could hunker down through the economic crisis without transforming their behavior. But then this week new U.S. President Barack Obama made it clear their attitudes and compensation have to change at a time when they are being bailed out with many billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money and the rest of...

Euphoria was almost universal yesterday…except on Wall Street. “Dad, don’t pick on Obama,” said Maria, calling from California. “I watched the inauguration yesterday. It was moving. Really moving. They seem like such nice people…and they really want to do what’s right. At least, that’s the way it seems to me…” We watched the TV news. The British press focused on the race issue. Blacks...