Fed Plans to Tighten Commodities Rules for Banks

``"This is reminiscent of the days of the robber barons," Senator John McCain, the top Republican on the subcommittee, said Friday morning... the Fed was likely to reconsider the so-called merchant banking laws that have allowed banks to own nonbank businesses. But Mr. Tarullo also said that the subcommittee's investigation pointed to a new issue to explore, which was that there were some areas of bank business, such as physical commodities, where there did not seem to be any regulator in charge.''