Urban Vietnamese are leaping on the capitalist bandwagon, driving it as fast as they can in an effort to build a lead on the foreign companies that will inevitably tap a burgeoning market.

Dealers say the backlog of unconfirmed credit default swap trades has been reduced by 54% since September 2005. The New York Fed is asking for a further reduction by the end of June this year. How near is the market to having an infrastructure able to cope with massive growth and a broadening of the uses of CDS? Helen Avery reports.

CLSA rebrands and beefs up its private equity operation.

Are hedge fund databases trustworthy...

The UAE capital markets received a boost last month when National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) issued a Dh2.5 billion ($680 million) tier 2 convertible bond through a private placement. It is the first time this type of hybrid security has been issued in the UAE.

There has been a lot of talk about the use of computerized trading in foreign exchange. Discussions at a recent seminar in London suggest that there is real substance, not just hot air, behind the chat.

Plans by International Index Company (IIC) and Eurex to launch a CDS future have yet to resolve the question of how cash settlement will be achieved on reference entities that have defaulted. But once this problem has been solved, the initiative should open up the CDS market to investors that have so far been blocked from trading the OTC market.

The first wave of easy returns on commodities has passed, while allocations continue to grow. Traditional players are having adapt to a much more liquid market, swimming with a new breed of investors and their active hedging strategies. Peter Koh examines the changes.

Private-sector company prepares businesses for IPOs.

Worth only the paper it’s printed on

In a sign that Kazakhstan is set to become increasingly visible on investors’ radar screens, a new investment bank has been set up there to offer a full range of corporate finance and brokerage services.

Excellent market conditions, M&A, special situations and heightened insurance activity drove record subordinated supply in the first quarter; more deals are in the pipeline.

Banking sector consolidation continues in Georgia, where Bank of Georgia recently acquired its ninth-largest competitor, IntellectBank.

“Oh, these are among the most toxic instruments we’ve created. And they’re absolutely a bull market instrument. In a bear market, it’s not a question of maybe losing just a percentage point. You can lose 10 points in a heartbeat.”

The $67 billion AT&T/BellSouth merger catapults Evercore and Rohatyn up the league tables.

Chief executive of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange thinks pressure is building for exchange-traded model.

“I see you have the same problem as in my country: prostitutes everywhere!”

Hedge funds returns are rising; does this mean volatility is back?

The covered bond market is developing in a way that few could have hoped for a few years back. Everywhere there is evidence of vitality. In addition to established relatively new sectors such as Ireland and the UK, issuers from Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and even Turkey are expected to join in. Alex Chambers reports.

Treat your back-office staff well lest they take umbrage and run away to a hedge fund.

The US hybrid market has suffered a setback following a recent NAIC ruling.

Euromoney meets the chief executive of a specialist financial services firm recently bought out by management. Such deals are rare in a sector where most participants are inherently leveraged through their day-to-day operations. Is the firm’s capital structure not now rather strained? Not at all, says the CEO. It could ask its backers or other third parties for more money tomorrow and get as much as it wanted. Raising money isn’t the problem. Almost anyone can get funding right now. Identifying the right investments to build the business – that’s the tough part.

Further reformis essential if the region’s stock exchanges are to come under the steadying influence of institutional investors.

It’s a good job that many US investment banks have had such a strong first quarter. They need the cash to keep the regulators at bay.

Finance minister’s resignation leaves investors feeling cautious.

While rivals’ share prices roar ahead, Citigroup’s languishes. Investors love stocks that are easy to understand. So is it time for Citi to develop a clearer strategy?

More opco/propco deals are likely given rising real estate values and investor interest in secured debt.

Rising personal bankruptcy levels and an uncertain economic outlook in the UK might suggest that non-conforming and sub-prime mortgage lending is not the smartest business line to jump into at the moment. Try telling that to the succession of new entrants now preparing to try their luck in this sector – one in which veterans might suggest that they are already 10 years too late.

Gulf of credibility baulks Aussie banker: Australian banker attempts to avoid jail time and earn enough to repay embezzled funds by taking a position at the National Bank of Kuwait.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is one of the world’s biggest institutional investors. It is also one of the most guarded. It publishes no numbers. It seldom makes any public statements. In a rare interview, two of its most senior officials lift the lid on the organization, revealing the reasons for its success. Sudip Roy reports from Abu Dhabi.