Naked Short-Sale Ban, N.Y. Bank Probe, Barclays: Compliance

European Union governments agreed to curb so-called naked short-selling of government bonds and stocks, while Germany said the group should have gone further and banned credit default swaps tied to the debt.

Finance ministers from the region’s 27 countries endorsed restrictions on speculation at a meeting in Brussels yesterday, insisting traders must have at least a “reasonable expectation” that they can obtain the underlying securities which they agree to sell short. Ministers didn’t back a last-minute German request for a ban on so-called naked credit-default swaps tied to sovereign debt.