So, Treasury Secretary Paulson has "defended" his plan to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory structure this morning, noting that initial reviews of the plan were wrong. Initially, analysts believed that the regulation was a tad weak, but Paulson notes that "Those who want to quickly label the blueprint as advocating more' or less' regulation are oversimplifying this critical and inevitable debate." In this morning's speech, Paulson noted that the new blueprint was "common sense" and that the currently employed system is in poor shape, noting, "Few, if any, will defend our current balkanized system as optimal."

The new plan consolidates financial regulation into three agencies, giving significant power to the Fed. Bernanke and gang would investigate all aspects of the financial markets, including hedge funds, should the market's financial stability come under threat. Paulson noted that the new blueprint would serve as a "beacon," a beacon that would be achieved after many years.

After floating around breakeven through early trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA 12,261.1) has started to accelerate and is facing a 50-point gain as we round the corner to the noon hour.