EU heads back financial clampdown

[malaise]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7904300.stm
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European leaders in Berlin have agreed on the need to regulate all financial markets including hedge funds.

As well as greater supervision of all financial markets and instruments, leaders underlined the need to reassess the issue of pay at finance firms.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy added: "We all agreed that we can no longer tolerate the reward package system for traders and bankers."

There has been much criticism of bankers' bonuses, which have been high despite their bank's poor performance.

Leaders also said they wanted to crack down on tax havens.

Ms Merkel said: "As far as uncooperative players, tax havens or areas where non-transparent business is carried out are concerned, we need to develop sanction mechanisms. These must be made very concrete," she said

She added that a list would be drawn up "clearly showing which the unco-operative jurisdictions are."