Funds still hedging on disclosure standards

Should hedge funds' speculative powers be restrained? Advocates on both sides of the argument appear to have reached a compromise with a powerful financial body this week recommending higher transparency in hedge funds' books but stopping short of imposing direct regulatory controls. The Financial Stability Forum, a panel made up of the Group of Seven industrialized nations plus Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore, has proposed hedge funds and other highly leveraged financial instituti…