US Senator Bernie Sanders, independent from Vermont, is known for his straightforward and unbiased positions.

His new legislative proposal is to break up big banks that are deemed "too big to fail." To quote Mr. Sanders: "if an institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist. We should break them up so they are no longer in a position to bring down our entire economy."

The housing bubble and subsequent "Great Recession" have tarnished the stars of a good many of the world's financial wizards, such as the former heads at Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch. But one respected image remains -- perhaps unsurprisingly -- on top: Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A).

That's according to a recent quarterly poll of investors, traders, and analysts who subscribe to Bloomberg terminals, those somewhat cryptic news and data computers that are ubiquitous on Wall Street. Buffett, who received favorable nods from 25% of those participating in the poll, walked away with a plurality of the vote, Bloomberg News reported.

Who are they? First, we have Lloyd Blankenstein, CEO of Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE GS). Then we have Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Company (NYSE JPM) and then CEO, Vikam Pandt of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE C).

You are probably also wondering how do we know this? The Associated Press did a review of Geithner's calendar under the Freedom of Information Act.

In his first seven months on the job, Geithner made at least 80 contacts with the "big three." Not only that Geithner jumps to the phone when they call. They are the dominant players on Wall Street who can move markets and even economies.

The U.S. Treasury and Congress are putting pressure on the Fed to disclose its governance policies.

Almost three months ago, on June 17, the Obama administration proposed a regulatory overhaul including a "comprehensive review of the Fed's ability to accomplish its existing and proposed functions."

There is some confusion as to why the Treasury is undertaking this task. The Fed was created by Congress to be independent of the executive branch and Congress.

In an unusual move, U.S. Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, is making a special trip to Saudi Arabia. Why? Authorities in Saudi Arabia have recently withdrawn $50 billion of U.S. investments to reinvest at home. The Saudis are planning a $400 billion stimulus plan at home over the next five years.

With last year's record oil prices, the Saudis racked up a huge budget surplus. Much of that surplus of $500 billion is invested in US Treasury bills.

First of all, let's look at what hedging really is. Take, for example, a farmer who grows corn. He knows that his cost for growing corn is, say, $3.00 per bushel. But he doesn't know what price the price of bushel of corn will be come harvest time. He looks at the September futures contract for corn and sees that the price is $3.30 per bushel.

To guarantee that he will get $3.30 at harvest time, he sells September corn contracts equal to his crop (each corn contract equals 5,000 bushels). When harvest time comes he delivers his corn to the appropriate delivery point designated by the Chicago Board of Trade exchange (CBOT) where the contracts are traded. It should be noted that if the price of the futures contract goes above $3.30 per bushel, the farmer may be called for margin money until he makes delivery, at which time his account is settled out.

During the years leading up to the financial meltdown, banks primarily took mortgages and other loans and bundled them together. Rating agencies were called in to bless them -- we now know those ratings were bogus. No one bothered to ask what was in the packages and no one cared as long as the value kept rising. Then when the crash came, it was too late. Not knowing what was in the packages, investors could not sell because no one on the other side of the trade wanted to buy. The markets froze and the meltdown was on.

Now U.S. Treasury Geithner wants to change the rules and force lenders to retain at least 5% of the loans they generate. In a way, this is akin to a margin requirement for these securities. Obviously the banks oppose such a measure because it would tie up a portion of their capital.

Members of the G-8 nations (Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the United States) met in Leece, Italy, yesterday to discuss the state of world affairs. The main topic on the table was whether they should end their stimulus efforts and let world economies float their own boats.

The meeting, which Russian finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, described as "stormy," concluded with agreement that there would be no immediate end to the stimulus programs. U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner indicated that the U.S. had no intention of moving toward a tighter policy. He said, "it's too early to shift toward a policy of restraint." It must be noted that the more fiscally conservative governments of Germany and Canada favored ending the stimulus programs as soon as they are no longer needed.

• Profits for the bans are up.
• Bank stocks are surging.
• The U.S. government gave 10 banks permission to pay back $70 billion of TARP monies.
• Since January, banks have raised $200 billion and sold $75 billion in debt.
• Stress tests showed that 19 of the biggest banks needed only $75 billion to withstand a tougher than expected recession.
• In a press conference, U.S. Treasury Geithner said, "these are early signs of repair and improvement."

Can you imagine the anxiety in executive offices all across the country? Why is that you ask? The Obama Administration wants to give the SEC new powers on executive pay by forcing firms to let shareholders vote on executive pay and make executives who set pay schedules more independent.

Today's proposal, which is subject to Congressional approval, would cover all companies. The administration will also name a "special master" to monitor compensation plans for companies receiving government assistance.

You had to see this coming. The U.S. Federal Reserve is now being subjected to cries for transparency that it has said are necessary for the financial institutions it regulates. The campaign is being spearheaded by Florida Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson. Believe it or not, no one currently audits the Federal Reserve's accounts. And some skeptics have come to think that the Federal Reserve's fiscal house is not in order and that the Fed has actually not been able to balance its books and account for all the assets it has purchased. Zero Hedge claims the Fed cannot account for nearly $9 trillion in off-balance sheet transactions.