One of the other things this bank trading has done, it seems to me, is to teach the banks that due to their sheer size and the size of their trades they can actually manipulate the market in certain stocks to their advantage, much like the hedge funds have been shown to do.

Notice how it doesn't seem to be performance of a company any more that drives its stock price, its the perception. Many companies will announce a sales or profit gain and their stock goes DOWN as players reap profits more on movement. The days of the stock market moving up and down by the sum total of many smaller trades on Main st in response to actual news or market conditions seems to be long gone. Even the head of the NYSE a couple years ago left in disgrace after his salary of a hundred million or some other absurd number was disclosed.

I think the President's action of telling banks they need to be in banking is more than window dressing, it is a first step. jmho.

Jim at Dawn