Wall St Hits Back At Obama's Bank Curbs

Obama pushed job creation to the top of his agenda in his annual speech to Congress and vowed not to abandon his struggling healthcare overhaul after the loss of a key Senate seat in Massachusetts raised doubts about his leadership.

He renewed criticism of "bad behaviour" and recklessness on Wall Street that triggered the deepest economic crisis since the 1930s and demanded that Congress pass robust laws on financial regulation despite financial sector lobbying.

Howard Lutnick, chief executive of private investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, told Reuters at the World Economic Forum that Obama was waging "a populist battle against the banks."

"It's fun to bash the banks if you are not making ground in healthcare," he said in the Swiss ski resort of Davos .

Obama jolted markets on January 21 with proposals to force commercial banks to cut ties with hedge funds and private equity funds and to stop proprietary trading. He also said he wanted the financial sector to pay for a massive taxpayer bailout.

On Wednesday, business leaders at the annual Davos meeting warned Western governments that an uncoordinated, heavy-handed crackdown on the financial industry could crimp a fragile recovery from the worst recession since World War Two.

In his State of the Union message, Obama pledged to slap tough new regulations on Wall Street but said: "Look, I am not interested in punishing banks, I'm interested in protecting our economy."