Financial Watch

A proposal to audit the Federal Reserve gained momentum in the U.S. Senate on Thursday after the measure was softened at the last minute to address concerns raised by the central bank and Obama administration.

The full Senate may vote as soon as Thursday to include the audit proposal in a broad overhaul of financial regulation that would strip the Fed of its authority to supervise thousands of regional banks.

At least 20 Democratic and Republican lawmakers support the amendment from Senator Bernie Sanders, which would expand congressional investigators’ powers to audit the Fed. A bill approved by the House of Representatives in December contains a similar provision.

US stocks drifted higher on Monday amid uncertainty over fraud charges against top Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 25.02 points (0.23 per cent) to 11,043.68, recovering from a more than 100 points’ plunge on Friday when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced civil fraud charges on Goldman.