The New York Times outlines what happens when you do not get financial reform, especially on derivatives. In Secretive Banking Elite Rules Trading in Derivatives, we have details on how 9 representatives, from the Banksters, control and lock out the derivatives market, now through a new clearing house called ICE Trust. That's our usual suspects, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, UBS....

The details of their meetings, even their identities, have been strictly confidential.

It's like no limit poker and only a few are allowed to play, with too big to fail built into the game. One goes down, they bring the entire nation down with them.

The banks in this group, which is affiliated with a new derivatives clearinghouse, have fought to block other banks from entering the market, and they are also trying to thwart efforts to make full information on prices and fees freely available.

The little guy, those trying to use derivatives to hedge on commodities, like heating oil, cannot find out if they could have locked in lower prices. Why? Banks don’t disclose fees associated with the derivatives being bought and sold.

Banks collect many billions of dollars annually in undisclosed fees associated with these instruments — an amount that almost certainly would be lower if there were more competition and transparent prices.