UNITED STATES   Yellen’s remarks at Jackson Hole did not add to what we knew about monetary policy, nor whey they expected to. They did show, however, a feisty defense of the work done by the Fed in buttressing the safety of the financial system, post-crisis. President Trump may well choose to replace her, but her speech was undaunted. She firmly believes that financial regulation is essential, as it obviously is. That the rules and requirements introduced since 2008 are not only correct. They are, already, empirically significant and effective. She singled out the Volker rule for her most spirited defense. In her words, “There may be benefits to simplifying aspects of the Volcker rule, which limits proprietary trading by banking firms, and to reviewing the interaction of the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio with risk-based capital requirements. At the same time, the new regulatory framework overall has made dealers more resilient to shocks, and, in the past, distress at dealers following adverse shocks has been an important factor driving market illiquidity. As a result, any adjustments to the regulatory framework should be modest and preserve the increase in resilience at large dealers and banks associated with the reforms put in place … Continue reading US + Brazil Financial News (8/28)