Europe sets twin sights on the City

[TimberWolf]

To be fair I'd whine also if I had sprouts instead of ice cream.

Yeah, and you're not even a child.

[AtW]

like a child complaining that it wants ice cream instead of sprouts?

To be fair I'd whine also if I had sprouts instead of ice cream.

[Scary]

Well as long as they simply "flood them with light", rather than drain the markets of liquidity, causing a depression.

Let us not forget who is repsonsible for this crisis:

The Greek government

I think there's a bit of convenient finger pointing going on by the politicians.

Greece is just a tipping point, a trigger. Greece alone wouldn't be big enough to cause a problem if there weren't more and bigger bankrupt EU states.

[DodgyAgent]

Have you ever noticed that, whenever these outfits are faced with the prospect of having to bring their behaviour within acceptable parameters for some market, they bitch and whine about it being impossible and threaten to leave - yet, when they are forced into the position where the only way they can continue to make money out of said market is by complying, they suddenly find a way to do so?

In other words, given that they'll do literally anything for the sake of the money, all their moaning can be safely ignored.

Why is it that they spend so much money on employing people they think are exceptionally clever to make their case, yet the best those people ever manage is to make the company look like a child complaining that it wants ice cream instead of sprouts?

Are you a banker? you seem to have a natural talent for whining

[BlasterBates]

Well as long as they simply "flood them with light", rather than drain the markets of liquidity, causing a depression.

Let us not forget who is repsonsible for this crisis:

The Greek government

I think there's a bit of convenient finger pointing going on by the politicians.

[Moscow Mule]

Why is it that they spend so much money on employing people they think are exceptionally clever to make their case,

It's because, a lot of the time, the government / regulator caves and they get at least half of what they want - sprouts WITH ice cream is better than just sprouts.

[NickFitz]

However, his calls were given short shrift by market insiders who slammed the passporting system. "How is a US fund going to prove that it meets the requirements?" one source said. "The SEC [US market regulator] is going to say it's not our job to do that."

Have you ever noticed that, whenever these outfits are faced with the prospect of having to bring their behaviour within acceptable parameters for some market, they bitch and whine about it being impossible and threaten to leave - yet, when they are forced into the position where the only way they can continue to make money out of said market is by complying, they suddenly find a way to do so?

In other words, given that they'll do literally anything for the sake of the money, all their moaning can be safely ignored.

Why is it that they spend so much money on employing people they think are exceptionally clever to make their case, yet the best those people ever manage is to make the company look like a child complaining that it wants ice cream instead of sprouts?

[AtW]

The markets commissioner said he would deal "very severely" with credit default swaps in legislation planned for October. "These people don't like to come out in the light of day. We are going to flood them with light," he said, highlighting the need for more transparency.

The warning came as a European Parliament committee prepared to vote on Monday night on a version of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. That came ahead of a meeting of European Finance Ministers on Tuesday where they will vote on their own version. The two sides will then work in 'trilogue' to agree final legislation.

Critics believe both versions will harm the City, curtail investment opportunities, and lead to an exodus of hedge funds and private equity firms from the UK. (AtW's comment: where would they go?)

The MEP committee was expected to approve a proposal to force non-EU hedge funds to agree to transparency standards in exchange for a so-called passport to market to European investors. (AtW's comment: that's the right approach - if you do not comply with EU laws then don't expect to trade inside the block)

Mr Barnier backed that proposal, calling for "equal treatment". However, his calls were given short shrift by market insiders who slammed the passporting system. "How is a US fund going to prove that it meets the requirements?" one source said. "The SEC [US market regulator] is going to say it's not our job to do that."

Finance ministers are expected to vote through rules requiring funds to register separately in each EU country, a proposal which has also come in for heavy criticism.

George Osborne, Britain's new Chancellor, opposes the directive but is expected to back down in the face of overwhelming support from other EU countries.