Bloomberg – A group of hedge funds offered to increase disclosure to head off demands from politicians on at least two continents for more transparency.

“We know which way the wind is blowing,” said Andrew Baker, chief executive of London-based Alternative Investment Management Association, the industry’s largest lobby group. “We see a lot of this as inevitable and we’d like to put ourselves in a position to say, ‘You don’t have to drag this out of us.’”

European leaders meeting in Berlin on Feb. 22 said they want to subject the $1.4 trillion industry to more regulation because hedge funds “may present a systemic risk” to world economies, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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Economic Times – European leaders meeting in Berlin on Sunday backed oversight of the world?s financial markets and products, including hedge funds, and urged that sanctions be drawn up to punish tax havens.

A copy of the “chair’s summary” from a summit hosted by Chancellor Angela Merkel and seen by Reuters describes the situation in financial markets as “fraught” and says structural reforms and a focus on public spending are needed to emerge stronger from the global crisis.

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