NEWS

In a commentary piece published by Bloomberg (May 25), Erah Shirvani argues that Germanys ban certain short-selling transactions “is an unwarranted distraction that is based on misinformation and misperception.”
“The ban on naked short-selling of euro-area government and sovereign CDS, as well as shares of large German financial firms, has contributed to financial-market turmoil, affecting the [...]

In an op ed (May 25, 2010) in the Financial Times, Martin Wheatley questions the “knee-jerk responses” to blame short selling for the economic problems and impose new rules that “generally have the opposite effect to the one intended: they create instability and introduce uncertainty.”
Martin Wheatley is chief executive officer of the Securities and Futures [...]

In a May 20 editorial, the Wall Street Journal opined, “Removing short-sellers from the market silences the messengers, but it does nothing to improve the finances of Europe’s debt-laden government. And barring investors from betting against the shares of German banks won’t reduce their exposure to Greek and other troubled debt.
“After the panic of [...]

EU Finance Ministers today (May 18) cleared their version of alternative investment fund following an EU Parliament Committee’s vote yesterday (May 17) on their version of the new directive.
Significant differences remain between the Council and Parliament remain – including “passport”, “third country access” – as negotiations between the Commission, Parliament, and the Council in the [...]

BERLIN May 18, 2010 (AP) Germany’s market regulator announced a ban Tuesday on so-called naked short-selling of eurozone government debt certificates and shares of major financial companies, a move aimed at upholding financial stability amid the debt crisis.
The regulator, BaFin, said the ban — which was to take effect at midnight Tuesday and run through [...]

BBC reports (May 16) that “European finance ministers are preparing to meet [on Tuesday] o vote on a controversial new directive regulating hedge funds and venture capitalists. :
“Spain currently holds the EU presidency, and its finance minister Elena Salgado told the FT that other finance ministers would not agree to a delay. ‘There [...]

Bloomberg correspondents Ben Moshinsky and Stephanie Bodoni report (May 11) that EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier says a “final agreement between the U.S. and EU on rules to regulate hedge funds is ‘possible soon.’ “
“ ‘The debate on hedge funds and private equity is in the last stretch,’ Barnier said. “We’re working [...]

Dow Jones correspondent Meena Thiruvengadam reports that the “U.S. and European Union have yet to come to a specific agreement regarding the regulation of overseas investment funds but maintain they are on the same page in principle.”
In a May 12 statement issued after a meeting of U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and European Union markets [...]

The Coalition of Private Investment Companies prepare a grid that compares the key objectives of the Alternative Investment Fund Manager Directive with U.S. laws and regulations. One proposal before the EU envisions a “passport” that would allow a non-EU domiciled manager/fund access to all EU member-countries if the EU deems US laws “equivalent.” [...]

The EU Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee is poised to pass the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive on Monday (May 10) with requirements that third countries meet EU standards on tax policy, money laundering, and regulatory information-sharing to access EU investors.
The European press reports that the draft directive, as proposed recently by [...]