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Article: Wailing Wall Street; Investment banking.(effects of proposed regulations for investment banks)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- October 5, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Conflicts of interest cannot be regulated away in banks any more than in newspapers
THE third quarter of the year was grim for equity investors, with price falls of a fifth or more in most stockmarkets. It is now a racing certainty that this year will see a third consecutive decline in American share prices, the worst run since the depression of the 1930s.
The chief culprits are the bursting of the biggest-ever stockmarket bubble and well-justified gloom over world economic prospects. But burnt investors, eager prosecutors and aggressive regulators are not willing to leave things at that. They want somebody to blame, and have lit on the infectious greed ...