News bites: US financial regulators set to defend Dodd-Frank progress

Regulators will report significant headway toward the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, according to prepared testimony obtained by Bloomberg in advance of today’s hearing before the Senate Banking Committee.

At last count, less than half of more than 200 rules required under Dodd-Frank are now on the books. 

Federal regulators appear unlikely to challenge an $11 billion merger deal struck between American Airlines and US Airways, The New York Times reports. The Justice Department’s antitrust division must clear the deal, but the agency has, over the last decade, allowed several airline mergers, which are seen as having helped to stabilize a troubled industry.

The same antitrust division’s decision to challenge Anheuser-Busch InBev’s acquisition of Grupo Modelo has prompted the companies to revise the $20.1 billion deal in an attempt to appease regulators, according to The Associated Press.

According to a new filing with financial regulators, Mark Zuckerberg’s stake in Facebook has climbed to almost 30 percent, AFP reports. The Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows Zuckerberg now owns 632.65 million shares in the company.

In case you missed yesterday’s RegWatch:

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is moving to ensure banks properly implement its new home mortgage rules.

A contentious Agriculture Department meat-labeling rule has moved to the White House for review.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka blasted the White House as “heartless” over delayed silica rule.

A new report warns federal regulators to watch out for a surge of counterfeit medications.

The chairman of the House Small Business Committee will use his panel to battle an expected wave of administration regulations in the president’s second term.

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