Obama & Tim, working for American hedge funds?

[WhiskeyGirl]

Some British parliamentarians had hoped to derail a regime that would require hedge funds and private equity groups to register and disclose closely guarded trading information -- the traditional advantage of hedge funds in the open market.

The proposed law has also driven a rift between Brussels and Washington.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has complained that the controls could discriminate against American firms because the regulations would not give a passport or license to operate in Europe to foreign firms.

Washington, mulling lighter regulation for the sector, is worried the new EU rules would make it harder for a New York hedge fund, for example, to find investors in Europe.

Why?  Would lack of transparency in the American hedge fund business make investors in Europe hesitate?

Jean-Paul Gauzes, the French lawmaker who is in charge of broking a deal in the European parliament, has proposed giving foreign funds a license to do business across the European Union's 27 countries if they comply with the new law.

The EU's financial services chief, Michel Barnier, also has signalled a willingness to license foreign funds with a base in London, for example, to do business across the continent.

Is there some reason the American funds can't follow the EU rules?

more here - http://www.lse.co.uk/FinanceNews.asp?shareprice=&ArticleCode=q338y2d5o8sf4zq&ArticleHeadline=European_diplomats_prepare_for_hedge_fund_talks

How can there be financial reform in the US, if some on Wall Street are keeping secrets?  Hiding the real deals?  Will these be the ones that aren't listed on the exchanges?