President Obama’s call for new financial regulations is facing fierce opposition from the securities and investment industries. A new report by the watchdog group Common Cause reveals the financial industry spent $42 million lobbying Congress during the first six months of the year. Nine of the top recipients of securities money so far this year are Democrats. Senator Charles Schumer of New York topped the list, taking in nearly $680,000 in campaign contributions. Meanwhile, the Chamber of Commerce has launched a multi-million-dollar campaign to kill the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency that would monitor the products that banks and other institutions sell to consumers, including subprime loans.