Regulation

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has often been at odds with the labor unions that form the core of his Labour Party. But the Trades Union Congress is giving the premier, set to leave office at the end of June, one last push.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told lawmakers today that hedge fund transparency would be one of seven topics discussed at the G8 summit in early June, but that a deal “can’t be expected any time soon.”

Having abandon efforts to impose a “voluntary” code of conduct on hedge funds, Germany is being stymied in its hopes to see a “spontaneous” code arise from the hedge fund industry.

After failing to convince a skeptical United States and Britain to support its proposal for a hedge fund code of conduct, Germany is trying a new tack in its effort to tighten oversight of the industry.

Jean-Claude Trinchet, the president of the European Central Bank, said in advance of this weekend’s G8 finance ministers meeting that there is an “emerging consensus” in favor of a voluntary code of conduct for hedge funds.

It’s hardly breaking new ground, but former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt’s call for U.S. hedge funds to regulate themselves—or else—could hardly be timelier.

In striking down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s hedge fund registration rule last year, a federal appeals court ruled that the agency did not have the statutory authority to promulgate such a regulation.

Germany has said it is confident that a voluntary code of conduct can be agreed upon by the end of this year, but that confidence increasingly appears to be misplaced.

Just because you’re in the process of shutting down after losing $6.5 billion doesn’t mean the Feds will cut you a break when it comes to naked short-selling.

Germany continues to beat the drum against hedge funds, even as European finance ministers approved a watered-down common statement on hedge funds today rejecting regulatory intervention.