By Huw Jones

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Differences between new European Union and U.S. rules to crackdown on derivatives will be a key test of how well transatlantic regulators can coordinate to iron out loopholes banks may be tempted to exploit.

The United States has already approved a law to tighten supervision of the $615 trillion off-exchange derivatives markets and the EU published its own draft law on Wednesday.

By Dave Clarke

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) – The government’s $700 billion bailout of the financial system may still be politically toxic, but for those who voted for the program, there is some good news: the taxpayer bill continues to drop.

On Thursday, congressional scorekeepers projected the overall deficit impact of the Troubled Asset Relief Program — or TARP — will be about $66 billion.

July 12 (Reuters) – The European Union’s executive put forward proposals on Monday to bolster consumer confidence through better and faster protection of investors who face a run on their bank or have been the victim of fraud.

The European Commission’s plans are part of wider efforts to learn from the financial crisis, in which the savings of millions of people were hit by extreme market volatility and some banks had to be rescued by taxpayers.

– John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own –

By John Kemp

LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) – With its decision to fine and ban a former oil broker for manipulating the price of Brent crude oil last year as a result of trading while drunk, Britain’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) has continued its push to introduce higher standards into trading on the London commodity markets.

By Ben Berkowitz

AMSTERDAM, June 29 (Reuters) – A scathing report on the failure of Dutch bank DSB is likely to revive calls for European Central Bank governing council member Nout Wellink to step down early from some or all of his roles.

Wellink, who is also the president of the Dutch central bank (DNB) and chairman of the Basel Committee of global central bankers, is not criticised directly in the report.

The House of Representatives Financial Services Committee has posted the text of the the Wall Street regulation overhaul agreed by U.S. House of Representatives and Senate negotiators on Friday. The bill is headed toward final congressional approval next week although implementation will be bogged down for months in regulatory rule-making.

WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers are close to finalizing legislation that will overhaul the country’s financial system and usher in new rules for Wall Street.

A joint House of Representatives and Senate committee approved a bank regulation bill that lawmakers expect to pass each chamber separately in the coming days. It will then be ready for U.S. President Barack Obama to sign into law, possibly by July 4.

By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa

WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) – As officials at the Federal Reserve may soon discover, more isn’t always better.

On the face it, the results of the landmark regulatory reform bill finalized on Friday should have policymakers at the U.S. central bank running victory laps around Congress.

June 21 (Reuters) – British Finance Minister George Osborne will unveil plans for an extra tax on banks to pay for bailouts on Tuesday as part of a budget expected to be the most austere in 30 years.

He has said the tax will be introduced regardless of whether other countries follow suit. The following is the state of play of plans elsewhere in the world to shield taxpayers from having to shore up banks again.

By Michael Szabo

COLOGNE, Germany May 28 (Reuters) – Major changes proposed to the European Union’s emissions market could dramatically alter the landscape for traders, who are increasingly frustrated by regulatory uncertainty and political stalemate.

A deeper 2020 EU greenhouse gas reduction commitment, qualitative and quantitative restrictions on carbon offset eligibility and details on carbon permit auctioning in the scheme’s third phase are among the decisions expected to be made this year by the 27-nation bloc’s executive.