Big banks were told to make 'collapse' plans

U.S. regulators directed five of the country's biggest banks to develop plans for staving off collapse if they faced serious problems, emphasizing that the banks could not count on government help. Reuters reports that the two-year-old program, which has been largely secret until now, is in addition to the "living wills" the banks crafted to help regulators dismantle them if they actually do fail. According to documents obtained by Reuters, the Federal Reserve and the U.S.

Augustine Heard & Co., which reigned among the largest American trading houses in China in the mid-nineteenth century. The company was active from 1840 to 1877 under the direction of Augustine Heard and his nephews John, Augustine II, Albert, and George Heard.