Despite rumors to the contrary, information does not want to be free.

Are the problems experienced by the Treasury market the result of a shortage of information or an excess of expensive regulation? Perhaps there is a connection, for example, between the new liquidity requirements and increased volatility or diminished liquidity in Treasury securities. Perhaps there is a relationship between increased regulatory costs and the diminishing number of clearing firms. Perhaps, in the worst correlation, imposing new registration and other requirements will only…

It is almost certainly not the case that economic analysis is something that both political parties can agree upon. To the extent that either party seeks to use financial regulation as a device for political gain, economic analysis will always run a distant second in importance to polling.

Governor Tarullo's assertion that all types of institutions engaged in the same activity should be subject to the same regulation seems commonsensical. Upon closer consideration, however, that conclusion is less obvious. For example, should it really be the case that a bank, a broker-dealer that is not affiliated with a bank, and an unregulated hedge fund be subject to the same requirements when entering into a repurchase transaction or a swap? Banks take in large amounts…