Finance isn’t just an industry. It’s a system of social control. By J. W. Mason.

How universities, banks and the government turned student debt into America's next financial black hole. By Matt Taibbi.

Distressed Puerto Rico is being made to take a loan out to perform constitutionally mandated tasks of the government. By Vijay Prashad.

Treasury argues big investment firms don’t operate in shadows. By Jesse Hamilton.

It remains the biggest one-day stock market drop in history.

The House bill cancels $16 billion of the National Flood Insurance Program’s debt while loaning Puerto Rico $5 billion – money it will have to pay back. By David Dayen.

Alleged fraud put JPMorgan Chase hundreds of millions of dollars ahead; ordinary homeowners, not so much. By David Dayen.

Vietnam denies the anti-corruption fight boils down to political infighting and says it is government policy to ‘deal with wrongdoing and corruption.’

Hillary Clinton says she made a mistake when she gave speeches on Wall Street after leaving government. Taking money from banks, she writes in her new memoir, created the impression she was in their pocket. Her old boss doesn’t seem to share her concern. By Max Abelson.

Randal Quarles was “visibly shaken” after getting the Warren treatment. By Bess Levin.

While Russiagate rages, the bitter fight over the future of the real estate market continues. By Matt Taibbi.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday proposed sweeping changes to the tougher Dodd-Frank regulations put in place after the 2008 financial crisis. By Jim Puzzanghera, James Rufus Koren.

#WrongChoiceAct passed by the House. By Jon Queally.

Blue blazers. Blue checked shirts. Collar open. No tie. Brown shoes. Black shoes. Or Nike shoes. New, new, all new. Soft leather satchels with bold brass zippers. Good cufflinks. Good watches. Better than you know. Hundred dollar haircuts. Straight razored shaves. Shaped cuticles. Manicured nails. Clean, soft, tailored. New… By Hamilton Nolan.

Few parts of the U.S. are as exposed to the threats from climate change as Ocean County, New Jersey. It was here in Seaside Heights that Hurricane Sandy flooded an oceanfront amusement park, leaving an inundated roller coaster as an iconic image of rising sea levels. Scientists say more floods and stronger hurricanes are likely as the planet warms. By Christopher Flavelle.

Arconic, the industrial materials company that spun off Alcoa, has been treated with kid gloves by big asset managers. Thursday’s annual meeting could change things. By Gretchen Morgenson.

In a 5-3 decision, the court said the cities had standing to sue under the Fair Housing Act for allegedly discriminating against minority borrowers. By David G. Savage.

“I could never lend myself to any transaction, however respectable, that would commercialize on the prestige and dignity of the office of the presidency.” By Zaid Jilani.

Yes, other politicians have done it, and there's no rule against it. But Obama has plenty of unique reasons to avoid it. By Aaron Blake.

During this year’s Black History Month, the #BlackLivesMatter folks rolled out, in partnership with OneUnited Bank, their officially branded #BlackLivesMatter debit card, which features the striking portrait of “Amir,” an African boy flanked by the iconic images of 1968 Olympians Tommie John and John Carlos, fists in the air… By Bruce A. Dixon.