Senate repeals banking rule

By Larry Keane U.S. Senators are warning big banks not to use the recent pandemic recovery funds as a bludgeon against industries they find out of fashion. In other words, don’t use taxpayer funds as a weapon to score political points at the next corporate cocktail party. U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), along with 18 additional senators, authored a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin and Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, warning them not just that this could happen, but they fully expect it to happen. That’s because they have seen it happen before. “A small but vocal minority has weaponized federally-backed banks against politically-disfavored businesses that operate in good faith and compliance with the law, by denying them financial services based on political reasons that have nothing to do with creditworthiness,” wrote the 19 senators who signed the letter. Disfavored Industries The senators didn’t pull punches. They listed the worst … [Read more...] about Senators Warn Banks Not To Use Recovery Funds To Starve Gun Business

HONG KONG — China has suspended a policy that would have effectively pushed foreign technology companies out of the country’s banking sector, according to a note sent by Chinese regulators to banks. Dated Monday, the letter called for banks to “suspend implementation” of the rules , which have been at the center of a brewing trade conflict between the United States and China. The rules, put into effect at the end of last year, called for companies that sell computer equipment to Chinese banks to turn over intellectual property and submit source code, in addition to other demands. At stake is billions of dollars of business for major American companies that make the advanced computing hardware and software that crunches numbers for banks across China. Trade groups representing companies including Microsoft, IBM and Apple have complained that such policies are protectionist . Yet the development is only a small reprieve for American tech companies. The suspension is temporary … [Read more...] about China Halts New Policy on Tech for Banks

FRANKFURT — No matter which way the Greek vote goes, the European Central Bank on Monday will face a series of agonizing decisions. Greece’s future in the eurozone may well depend on how far the central bank is willing to go to prop up struggling Greek banks and prevent a total economic collapse. If Greeks vote yes — agreeing to accept unpopular dictates from other eurozone nations and international creditors in return for more aid — the central bank would have a much easier time justifying emergency loans and other steps to keep the banks from failing. No economy can function properly without banks; if they topple, so will the economy. But if Greeks vote no, Mario Draghi, the president of the E.C.B., may be confronted with a difficult choice. The central bank’s rules would probably require it to stop providing cash to Greek banks. But Mr. Draghi might be tempted to find a way around those rules, because choking off financial support would thrust untold hardship upon ordinary … [Read more...] about Day of Reckoning for Greek Banks and Eurozone’s Central Banker

Charles H. Percy, a former United States senator from Illinois and a moderate Republican who clashed with President Richard M. Nixon over Watergate and whose own presidential ambitions were stymied by Nixon’s resignation, died Saturday in Washington. He was 91. His death was announced by the office of his son-in-law, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia. Mr. Percy had been treated for Alzheimer’s disease for many years. A three-term senator, Mr. Percy went to Washington in 1967 after a strikingly successful career as a businessman. In 1949, at the age of 29, he was named president of Bell & Howell and then oversaw its rapid growth. He also arrived in the capital grief-stricken: one of his daughters had been murdered during his 1966 campaign. Mr. Percy was talked about as presidential material almost from the time he entered politics in 1964, when he ran for governor of Illinois; he narrowly lost to Otto Kerner Jr. The notion gained even wider currency in … [Read more...] about Charles Percy, Former Ill. Senator, Is Dead at 91

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced the appointment of a committee to recommend the rules and procedures for the Court of Impeachment involving Attorney General Ken Paxton. The Associated Press reports the trial will begin no later than August 28. “Today, the Texas Senate received Articles of Impeachment for Attorney General Ken Paxton,” Governor Patrick said in a written statement on Monday evening. “The Senate will follow its constitutional duty and I appointed a committee to develop proposed rules and procedures for the matter.” The Texas Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling for the impeachment trial of Attorney General Paxton to begin “not later than August 28.” Patrick appointed the following senators (five Republicans and two Democrats) to recommend the rules and procedures for the Court of Impeachment: Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, Chair Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, Vice Chair Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe Sen. Pete Flores, … [Read more...] about Texas Senate Prepares for Trial in Impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton

The Texas House of Representatives announced the appointment of 12 managers to present evidence in the Senate impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton. No date or schedule has been announced by the Senate. The Texas House announced on Monday that the trial managers for the impeachment of the Texas attorney general will consist of seven Republicans and five Democrats. The announcement follows Friday’s impeachment vote in the House on 20 articles of impeachment. The House voted 121-23 in favor of impeachment, Breitbart Texas reported . “We will manage this process with the weight and reverence that it deserves and requires,” Chairman Andrew Murr (R-Junction) told reporters during a Memorial Day press conference in the Texas House. “This is about facts and the evidence. It is not about politics.” KXAN NBC Austin reported the following list of House managers: Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, chair. Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston, vice chair. Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort … [Read more...] about Impeachment Managers Chosen for Senate Trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton