White House abandons and House Divided on Financial Reform

Obama administration on Wednesday abandoned a significant provision in the face of widespread political and industry opposition. It dropped a requirement for financial services companies to offer “plain vanilla” products, like 30-year fixed mortgages and low-interest, low-fee credit cards. NYT discusses political cave-in. and that unity from the darkest days of the crisis have dissolved. The acrimony could further delay or dilute the administration plans to rewrite rules for the financial system.