Sweden rides to defence of hedge funds Sweden marked the first day of its six-month European Union presidency on Wednesday by coming to the defence of hedge funds and private equity, promising to press for improvements in EU proposals for tougher regulation of both groups. "There is an exaggerated fear that private equity contains big systemic risk. Our opinion is that it does not," said Mats Odell, the country's financial markets minister. (...) Mr Odell said: "It is not private equity that caused the crisis, nor hedge funds. But in some countries, the political debate portrays private equity and hedge funds as the problem. That's not the same as saying we shouldn't regulate them. But the aim is to have sound regulation and not to kill the industry." (...) Private equity chiefs see the Swedish presidency of the EU as a window to water down the proposed regulation before Spain takes over on January 1. "Sweden has its own significant private equity and venture capital industry, so it is very focused on this," said Mr Walker.
Sweden marked the first day of its six-month European Union presidency on Wednesday by coming to the defence of hedge funds and private equity, promising to press for improvements in EU proposals for tougher regulation of both groups.
"There is an exaggerated fear that private equity contains big systemic risk. Our opinion is that it does not," said Mats Odell, the country's financial markets minister.
(...)
Mr Odell said: "It is not private equity that caused the crisis, nor hedge funds. But in some countries, the political debate portrays private equity and hedge funds as the problem. That's not the same as saying we shouldn't regulate them. But the aim is to have sound regulation and not to kill the industry."
Private equity chiefs see the Swedish presidency of the EU as a window to water down the proposed regulation before Spain takes over on January 1.
"Sweden has its own significant private equity and venture capital industry, so it is very focused on this," said Mr Walker.
Any thoughts? Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
Raising interest rates will reliably strangle the real economy, though. The peak-to-trough part of the business cycle is an outlier. Carnot would have died laughing.
