The New Paulson Plan...Stay Tuned

Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's new plan for financial regulations is an interesting one. The story is developing, but, according to BusinessWeek and Forbes, some of the highlights include merging the Office of Trift Supervision and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission into other bodies, create a national insurance regulator, and put the Federal Reserve in the primary role of market stability modulator or national risk regulator. The 22-page executive summary can be found here.

Possible Targets in Mortgage Lender Collapse: Accountants and Lawyers

The court-appointed bankruptcy examiner's report on bankrupt mortgage lender New Century is now open. According to the WSJ's analysis, some fingers may be pointed at NC's auditors, KPMG, and their law firm, O'Melveny & Myers LLP. More on this here.

SEC Proposes New Privacy Rules

Regulation S-P governs identity theft from securities customers. The SEC, several days ago, proposed a new set of rules to tighten requirements for securing customer data. They include security breach notification and an increased scope of protection for personal data. Here's law firm Goodwin Proctor's take on it.

Investment Advisors Targeted in Subprime Fall-out?

Pamela Hans, an attorney at Anderson Kill & Olick, told Financial Week that institutional investment advisers might be targeted by corporate pension fund managers for lawsuits, resulting from their subprime exposures. This could come on the back of the current wave of suits already hitting those involved in the mortgage industry.