New rules for hedge funds and private equity are expected to move a step closer when EU finance ministers push for tough regulation at a meeting in Brussels

Regulation of hedge fund and private equity fund managers in Europe is poised to go ahead after European Union finance ministers reached agreement on new rules for the alternative investment fund sector

Chuka Umunna MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Small Business and Enterprise, commenting on today’s Small and Medium Enterprises Finance Monitor survey, which is the largest survey of its kind undertaken, said: 

Fears are now growing that many private equity (PE) takeovers will go bust. Almost none of the conditions needed for the kind of takeovers that unions were most worried about are now in play:     There is no longer easy cheap loan finance available from banks. Many PE takeovers were highly...

Four private equity houses are to open offices as part of a £200m-plus fund to provide growth finance to SMEs outside London and the south-east

New proposals approved by the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference include: Only using private finance when it is shown that this can provide better value for money to the taxpayer than public finance. Allowing local and devolved government to borrow money to invest, rather than having to use PFI. Undertaking better evaluations of the value for money offered by PFIs. Ensuring all PFI projects a...

Finance Secretary John Swinney faces growing pressure from business and his political opponents as he prepares to set out his plans for a new way to finance government capital projects.

Young people starting work this year will pay taxes for the Government's Private Finance Initiative until they are nearly 70.

Eurozone finance ministers failed to agree on the role of private creditors in a second Greek bailout package, despite meeting for hours in Brussels yesterday. The ECB and Germany remain in a stalemate, though Germany looks more likely to give in. Following the meeting, Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders said, "I think financing is within reach for the coming weeks”.

EU finance ministers were due to meet today to discuss the EU’s proposed AIFM Directive on hedge fund and private equity managers. The FT reported this morning that the Spanish EU Presidency had said it was optimistic that a deal would be reached. However, on his WSJ blog, Stephen Fidler reports that Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado has pulled the item from the agenda of today’s ...