financial sector meltdown

The seedy underbelly of the derivatives market:

The charges filed Thursday are related to a wide-ranging government investigation of the U.S. municipal bond market. In December 2010, four federal agencies and 20 states announced a sweeping $137 million settlement with Bank of America for its role in a scam authorities said defrauded state agencies, cities and nonprofits that sought to invest with banks the millions they borrowed through bond offerings for hospitals, apartment complexes and other projects.

I know I've harped on this before, and I'm going to keep on harping until the cash cow comes home: As long as banks and other financial institutions continue to favor derivatives and other "exotic products" over sound (direct) investment in business, our economy will continue to struggle.