Wall Street Roundup: Canary in the coal mine. Risky loans.

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Gold: Trading now at $1,544 per ounce, up 0.2% from Monday. Dow Jones industrial average: Trading now at 12173.25, up 0.8% from Monday.

Canary in the coal mine. Jefferies, a Wall Street investment bank, kicked off the Wall Street earnings season Tuesday morning and the results, as expected, suggest a slowdown in business.

Risky loans. Banks appear to be falling over themselves to provide corporate loans; some worry they are not doing enough to protect themselves against the risks of the loans.

Capital idea. Joe Nocera returns to the argument that the current debate about capital requirements for Wall Street banks is more important than any other issue of financial reform.

--Nathaniel Popper