Federal Regulation

A nutrition advocacy group joined with scientists and health agencies Wednesday to ask the federal government to decide just how much sugar is “safe” in sodas, raising the bar in its crusade to curb the “dangerously high” amounts Americans consume. Drinks are the single largest source of added sugar in the diet, and the request to the FDA is one way to fight back against the “ubiquitous marketing and heavy consumption” of sugar-sweetened beverages, the executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Michael Jacobson, said at a news conference in Washington.

WASHINGTON - In a scathing report, Senate investigators said JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s huge trading losses last year were caused by high-risk market bets that bank executives failed to catch despite numerous red flags. The 307-page, bipartisan report released Thursday said the bank tried to hide the $6.2 billion of losses in the so-called London Whale trades from regulators and the public. The report went on to criticize JPMorgan's federal regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, for failing to discover and properly investigate the trades.

Cable Questions: Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Commerce Committee, said it is time to make cable TV accountable to viewers and municipal authorities and has asked FCC Chairman Dennis R. Patrick to review the 1984 law that freed the cable industry of federal regulation. Dingell said in a speech to the Assn. of Independent Television Stations that the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 was based on the proposition that competition would be sufficient to protect the public interest.

Maurice L. McAlister overcame a dirt-poor childhood in Texas to achieve prominence in two fields as a young man - first as a builder, then as the head of Downey Savings & Loan, which became a Southern California banking fixture for decades under his leadership. Despite his considerable wealth, the man everyone called Mac remained a down-home character, living mainly in Bullhead City, Ariz., where he could hunt quail and elk and fish for bass. He nurtured close family ties along with the business: One of his three daughters was on Downey's board and a son-in-law rose to chief executive.

It's too much to ask, I know, but the speeches Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention left me hungering for a real exploration of the role government plays in helping U.S. businesses. The unifying theme of the speeches, at least in theory, was "We Built It" -- a declaration of solidarity with the entrepreneurs who create businesses without the government's assistance. To underline that point, the giant screen inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum showed the occasional video featuring a selectively edited version of one of President Obama's stump speeches.

After eight years of confrontational Reagan Administration efforts to eliminate federal regulations, the Bush Administration is discussing a series of moves that could go even further to reshape the government's oversight of major American industries. But the new Administration, less ideological than the old, will probably seek to reinstate federal controls in some areas even as it relaxes regulations elsewhere. For example, Bush's new transportation secretary, Samuel K.

The Food and Drug Administration is seeking greater authority to regulate drug makers such as the Massachusetts company that produced steroid injections tied to a deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis, officials said Wednesday at a congressional hearing in which one of the firm's owners invoked his constitutional rights and refused to testify. Barry Cadden, a co-founder of the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., briefly appeared before the House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee hearing.

Election watchers -- or candidates -- seeking a sleeper issue in the 2004 race for the White House might want to take a long look at the state of regulation in America. They might find, as President Reagan did, a potentially rich harvest of votes from Americans who resent paying too much for goods and services, or fear losing their jobs because of rules put in place by federal bureaucrats.

CBS Corp.'s chief executive, Mel Karmazin, said Thursday his company would be interested in buying NBC if the government eased rules that prevent one company from owning two broadcast television networks. Karmazin told a group of advertising executives at a conference in New Orleans that NBC would be a better fit with his company than NBC parent General Electric Co. He also said that if Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp.

Federal regulators have sued a purported gold-selling operation run by a Laguna Niguel man, accusing it of bilking investors out of millions of dollars. At least 80 people paid about $5.5 million to two Irvine companies headed by Ryan A. Nassbridges for gold and silver coins and bars and other precious metals, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The buyers were told the firms would store the coins and bullion for them before selling it for a profit, the suit says.

SACRAMENTO - California electricity ratepayers could get rebates of as much as $1.6 billion from more than a dozen power wholesalers that allegedly manipulated the market during the energy crisis of 2000, the state Public Utilities Commission announced. The commission in a statement released late Tuesday praised an "initial decision" issued Friday by a federal administrative law judge who ruled in favor of the state in a complaint filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

A nutrition advocacy group joined with scientists and health agencies Wednesday to ask the federal government to decide just how much sugar is “safe” in sodas, raising the bar in its crusade to curb the “dangerously high” amounts Americans consume. Drinks are the single largest source of added sugar in the diet, and the request to the FDA is one way to fight back against the “ubiquitous marketing and heavy consumption” of sugar-sweetened beverages, the executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Michael Jacobson, said at a news conference in Washington.

The environmental group Friends of the Earth made its case to federal regulators last week that Southern California Edison should be barred from restarting the San Onofre nuclear plant unless it goes through a trial-like hearing process. The meeting between Friends of the Earth and a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission review board on Wednesday was the latest step in a dispute that has lasted for more than six months. San Onofre has been closed for nearly a year because of unusual wear on tubes at the plant, which resulted in a small leak of radioactive steam last January.

Banks are hashing out a $10-billion settlement with federal regulators to halt costly reviews intended to compensate borrowers whose foreclosures were marred by legal shortcuts, lost paperwork and improper fees. The reviews - conducted by highly paid consultants hired by the banks themselves - have so far failed to deliver any meaningful assistance to homeowners. The failure has been long predicted by critics, including Sheila Bair, former chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Federal regulators have taken the first major step in nearly 15 years to strengthen the protection of kids' online privacy. The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that it has given parents greater control over the information that online services collect from kids 12 and under. The changes don't go as far as originally proposed after heavy lobbying from the technology and media industry that said the changes would hamper economic growth, stifle innovation and limit the scope and number of online games and educational programs for kids.

WASHINGTON - President Obama and a key Senate Democrat said Friday they were willing to consider relaxing federal enforcement of the laws against marijuana for those who possess small amounts of the drug. They were reacting to new voter-approved laws in Washington and Colorado that permit recreational users to have an ounce of marijuana at home. In addition, California and 17 other states allow the medical use of marijuana. Despite this state-by-state move toward limited legalization, federal law still classifies marijuana as a highly dangerous drug and makes it a crime to sell or possess even tiny amounts.

WASHINGTON - Hard economic times have helped push millions of Americans deeply into debt, plunging many into a dark world filled with relentless collection agents, aggressive lawyers and companies that profit mightily if they can get people to pay up. Aided by outdated laws and lax oversight, debt collection has become a $12-billion-a-year business as people increasingly have fallen behind on their bills for credit cards, student loans, hospital stays...

WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators said Monday they have opened investigations of 19 financial companies for possible violations of new mortgage advertising rules designed to keep firms from misleading consumers about reverse mortgages and other products. In addition, the regulators have sent letters to 32 other firms warning them about ads that falsely imply a connection to a government program or provide other potentially misleading information. The actions, announced Monday, came after a review by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of about 800 advertisements by mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers and other firms outside the traditional banking system.

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators have opened investigations into 19 financial companies for possible violations of new mortgage advertising rules designed to keep firms from misleading consumers about reverse mortgages and other products. In addition, the regulators have sent letters to 32 other firms warning them about advertisements that falsely imply a connection to a government program or provide other potentially misleading information. The actions, announced Monday, came after a review by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of about 800 ads by mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers and other firms outside the conventional banking system.

WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators said Monday they have opened investigations of 19 financial companies for possible violations of new mortgage advertising rules designed to keep firms from misleading consumers about reverse mortgages and other products. In addition, the regulators have sent letters to 32 other firms warning them about ads that falsely imply a connection to a government program or provide other potentially misleading information. The actions, announced Monday, came after a review by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of about 800 advertisements by mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers and other firms outside the traditional banking system.