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Fund managers in the European Union must disclose more information about how they pass on the costs of investment research to consumers, as part of an overhaul of investor protection rules.

Clients should be informed about the budgeted amount for research and the amount of the expected research charge, the European Securities and Markets Authority said in technical guidance provided to the European Commission Dec. 19 by the Paris-based group. A firm may increase its research budget only with the clients written agreement, the regulator said.

ESMAs proposed approach would raise standards and reduce conflicts of interest across Europe and ensure that payments for research are clearly distinguished from payments for trading, Daniel Godfrey, head of the Investment Management Association, said in an e-mailed statement.

The 28-nation EUs top markets regulator made public more than 1,000 pages of proposed rules that cover everything from high-frequency trading curbs to transparency requirements for bond markets and position limits for commodity derivatives, with the aim of boosting confidence in the financial system.

Research is included in trading commissions paid to investment banks by fund managers, with the cost passed on to the customer. The U.K.s Financial Conduct Authority regulator has estimated that broker commissions totaled about 3 billion pounds ($4.7 billion) in 2012, with about half coming from research fees.

Japans corporate income tax may be cut by more than 2 percentage points next year and reduced to less than 30 percent within five, Economy Minister Akira Amari said.

Amari, speaking in Tokyo Dec. 19, said he wants to accomplish the tax cuts in as few years as possible.

After a landslide election win last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abes government is looking to pull the economy out of a mid-year recession. Company tax cuts are the centerpiece of efforts aimed at revitalizing growth and making the nation more appealing to investors.

Japans tax rate is about 35 percent, the second-highest among Group of Seven nations, according to the finance ministry.

Princess Cristina, the sister of Spains King Felipe VI, was ordered to face trial over claims she was an accessory to tax charges linked to her husband.

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