News Update: Wall Street Reform

After more than a year of work and two weeks of negotiations, lawmakers early Friday finished melding different versions of Wall Street reform. Today we cover Wall Street reform.

Wall Street Reform: What’s in the bill?

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) — After more than a year of work and two weeks of negotiations, lawmakers early Friday finished melding different versions of Wall Street reform.

The final bill won’t be ready for a few days, but here’s CNNMoney.com’s breakdown of key provisions that aim to protect consumers, prevent firms from getting too big to fail and crack down on risky bets that leave taxpayers on the hook.

First Thoughts: Wrapping Up Wall Street Reform (MSNBC)

Negotiators wrap up work on Wall Street reform, giving Obama and Democrats another potential victory… You can’t say this is a Do-Nothing Congress (though Republicans would argue it’s a Do-Too Much Congress)… Reform deal also is a feather in Obama’s cap as he heads to the G-8/G-20 in Canada… He was expected to make a statement about last night’s agreement before departing to Toronto… Remember Elena Kagan?… Rory who?… And Branstad picks his running mate.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Wrapping up Wall Street reform: Over the last few weeks, the work to reconcile the already-passed House and Senate financial reform bills has taken a back seat in the news to the Gulf oil spill, the midterm primaries, and the now the war in Afghanistan. But early this morning, negotiators finished their work, and Congress is expected to vote on the product next week — with President Obama set to sign it into law before July 4. The Wall Street Journal writes: “The bill is expected to have enough support to become law. Both chambers plan to vote next week. The margin in the House and Senate will likely be close because most Republicans are expected to oppose the measure.” (The details of what’s in the legislation can be found in our “Congress” section.)

China Shares End Down On Wall Street Weakness, Export Concerns

SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)–China’s shares ended lower Friday for the third consecutive day, as Wall Street’s weakness overnight exacerbated lingering uncertainties about the country’s export outlook.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both A and B shares, ended down 0.5%, or 13.93 points, at 2552.82, but was up 1.6% on the week. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1.8%, or 18.62 points, to 1028.61.

The Shanghai index is likely to face support at the key 2500 level next week, as investors await more economic cues from the Group of 20 summit in Toronto over the weekend.

“Investors are waiting for cues from the G-20 summit regarding the quality of the economic recovery,” said Zhang Gang, an analyst from Southwest Securities, adding that uncertainties about the pricing of Agricultural Bank of China’s upcoming mega initial public offering also weighed on the market. “The press has reported some possible prices like CNY2.70 per share, et cetera, but some investors want confirmation before they make trading decisions,” Zhang added.