July 23, 2009

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says the financial system has stabilized but needs new regulations to curtail behavior and practices that led to the meltdown that brought Wall Street to the brink of collapse.
The president specifically mentioned regulatory changes that would require shareholders to have nonbinding votes on executive compensation packages. He said the government could impose new fees on institutions that engage in what he called "far-out transactions."
The president was speaking in a prime-time news conference. He conceded that the $700 billion rescue program for the financial sector has been unpopular, but he said it was responsible for pulling the system back from the edge of failure.