Attention New York: on the eve (roughly) of the one-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ collapse, a new report from J.P.Morgan in London opines that because of the effects of eight likely financial-regulatory changes worldwide, “what is certain … is that global [investment] banking profitability will decline,” not just temporarily but structurally (that is, even after the recession is over).   (more…)

In a much-linked article, the Washington Post reports that “the biggest” of the nation’s too-big-to-fail “banks are even bigger” today, with three big banks alone owning more than 30 percent of the nation’s deposits, and four big banks issuing “one of every two mortgages and about two of every three credit cards.”

The banks likely will get even bigger in the future, despite supposed regulatory constrictions, because government guarantees and the cheap money they generate speak louder than words. (more…)

The chairman of Britain’s Financial Services Authority (similar to our SEC), Lord Turner, yesterday floated the idea of a global tax on financial transactions to shrink “a swollen financial sector,” the FT reports.

Turner admits that “the problem of getting global agreement will be very difficult. But at least proposals for special financial sector taxes, with increased capital requirements, address the issue of excessive profits.” (more…)

Small towns are losing millions of dollars on derivatives bets just when they can least afford to lose money. Why are we surprised? (more…)

Yesterday was another watershed day for New York and for American financial capitalism. (more…)

As everyone rushes to conclude that America’s financial-regulatory regime is completely broken, the FT has something to say (registration required) about hedge funds whose UK-based assets — estimated at $65 billion dollars – were frozen in the Lehman bankruptcy. “Hedge funds have been quietly shifting billions of dollars of assets out of London to the US, claiming that the US legal system provides greater protection,” the pink paper reports.  (more…)