Our borrowers' special begins with a dealmaker's diary, looking in depth at two emerging market Eurobond issues: how JP Morgan spent over a tear lead-managing a $100 million bond for Bank Handlowy of Poland, and how Salomon Brothers sold $400 million of Colombian sovereign debt.

Global market watchers like to keep the closest tabs on central banks, Japanese institutional investors and wily hedge fund managers. But it is the $3 trillion in US mutual funds that this year have kept the bond market depressed, sent US stocks to new highs and helped prop up emerging markets. When - and how - will the mutual fund frenzy end? Michelle Celarier reports

It is hard not to feel sorry for the Hungarians.

At the heart of the current dispute over ex-Yugoslav debt is an old legal chestnut: joint and several liability. The litigation is as confusing as the civil war, but at least it is being fought in the courts. By Christopher Stoakes

Derivatives are becoming an essential component of corporate finance in developing economies. But risk management rather than position-taking is their rationale, and bankers have changed their marketing pitch to take account of the new mood. Mariana Crespo reports

Does your company need a big loan, fast? Those in the know reckon Jimmy - Chase's James Lee - is your man. At Chemical, Lee led the market in US syndicated loans even before the merger with Chase. Now his team is dominant, and the most powerful financier since Michael Milken is set on expanding further, offering corporates package deals. But do they want or need them? And if Jimmy's empire gets bigger won't they lose the personal service that makes him so appealing? Stephen Neish reports

The techniques that constitute state-of-the-art borrowing are growing in sophistication. But having the latest black box doesn't guarantee success. Issuers also need old-fashioned market savvy to get the lowest-cost funds. Here are the ones that combined both qualities over the past year

Edited by Peter Lee.

So far 13 banks and investment banks have created top-rated derivatives subsidiaries. In theory such a sub won't go bust, even if the bank does. The banks claim this makes them acceptable as triple-A counterparties for derivatives transactions with the world's most select clients. But how accepted are they? And what nasty shocks lurk in the small print when the going gets rough? David Shirreff investigates

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Hong Kong

Large-scale mergers and the decision by Japan's Sumitomo Bank to bitethe bullet over provisioning have brought about the major changes in thisyear's rankings. The new Chase has rocketed to ninth position while Sumitomohas fallen from first to sixth. Antony Currie reports.

In their desire to expand in Asia, US investment banks have little choice but to get into bed with local partners. The most dramatic of the relationships so far forged has been Morgan Stanley's pioneering joint venture with the People's Bank of China. Will it blossom into a lasting and profitable marriage or will cultural clashes turn the partners against each other? Tony Shale reports

Edited by Steven Irvine

Foreign banks were attracted to Portugal by the infrastructure and privatization boom of the mid-1980s. Now they are finding the going much tougher. The battle to lend to large corporates has reached fever pitch and margins are so eroded that some players are having doubts about their future in the country. Nick Kochan reports

Edited by Brian Caplen

The internet's free technology raises questions about all the old ways of doing things. It makes communication easier than ever - both inside and outside a company - and it revolutionizes information storage and access. But who will be first against the wall when the changes begin to bite? Felix Salmon investigates how far the net will shake up banking

Jean-Claude Komarovsky watches in horror as a severe lapse of taste seizes the Euromarket. There's singing, there's dancing, there's also a bottom line