Government regulators from the US and Europe laid out their financial reform plans today before a sceptical banking industry, asking financiers for input but adamant that change was coming with or without their support.

Fair or not, Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay and former CEO Jeffrey Skilling are used to being called crooks and liars in the aftermath of the scandal-ridden implosion of the company they once ran. What counts is whether a dozen people chosen as jurors in their fraud and conspiracy case agree.

Frenkel to retire from Merrill Lynch at end April

The 32nd annual World Economic Forum began in New York today with discussions on where the global economy is headed and how to deal with terrorism.