President Obama Nudges Congress To Empower Regulatory Units

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says he hopes “it doesn’t take too long” to convince Congress to approve new authority to oversee financial firms.

The administration is pushing the idea of an overarching regulator, such as the Federal Reserve, to have the ability to take over nonbank financial entities whose failure could topple the entire financial system.

Obama spoke to reporters about the matter in the Oval Office Tuesday after meeting with visiting Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Obama heads to London next week for a meeting on the global crisis with the leaders of the Group of 20 major world economies.