Geithner backdrop: the "Cash Room"

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled plans last week to reinvigorate the banking industry from an aptly named place: the Treasury Department's "Cash Room."

The room opened in 1869, and the designer hoped it would resemble a roofed version of a traditional Italian palazzo bank, according to the Treasury Department.

At its start, the room really held cash, with horse-drawn vans delivering gold, silver and paper currency to supply area banks. Sometimes, bags stuffed with bills, coins or bullion would reach the ceiling.

The room, though, stopped operating as a "banker's bank" in 1976 when the cost to maintain its staff and security got too high.

Thanks a lot

Here's another thing you can blame on the banks — the poor performance of foreign stocks. Most global markets have done worse than the United States so far this year, and a big reason why is their big exposure to the financial industry. Financials make up about 21 percent of foreign markets, according to Standard & Poor's, roughly double their share of the U.S. market.

Well, my IQ is 100

How financially sophisticated are you? A new index can measure it exactly.

A group of researchers looked at some of the most common mistakes individuals make in investing, such as not having a diverse-enough portfolio or selling winning stocks while holding losing stocks. The formula is complicated.

In the end, the researchers found high scores correlate with people who are rich — big shock — and those from larger households. Education mattered to a lesser degree.

The Associated Press