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Euromoney's 40th anniversary gives us a chance to look forward. We profile the firms and the individuals who will help to write a new and successful chapter in global finance. We’ve picked out old firms sticking to what they have always done best and whose time has come, or those adapting to new times; or relatively young businesses with a new offering, or a new take on an old one.

The latest Euromoney primary debt and new-borrower poll provides a unique insight into what borrowers really think of their underwriters and what investors think of borrowers.

Methodology

The world’s largest borrowers in the international bond markets rate the products and services offered by the biggest deal arrangers.

The debt market has rewarded the biggest borrowers and the largest – and least scarred – underwriters handsomely. A new poll of the world’s largest fixed income investors by Euromoney shows which issuers are accessing the markets most successfully. Alex Chambers finds out what is making the bond markets tick.

A prominent Wall Street hedge fund manager is busted by the police after it emerges that his fund is no more than a giant Ponzi scheme, in which through charm and his reputation he has persuaded prominent friends and financiers to invest.

"So far-reaching and significant may be the decisions to come around capital requirements, funding liquidity and reserving that policymakers should not be precipitate in making those. Indeed I would advise that no such decisions should be taken now. There is no need"

"They want us to take away the bull. They want us to put up the flag. I hate that fucking flag"

The turmoil is a factor delaying capital markets plans rather than a disruption. Banks continue to profit from government debt refinancing, and upcoming privatizations should attract more foreign investment. Elliot Wilson reports.

From bust banks to bonkbuster

The extent of government involvement in Portugal’s economy might be partly to blame for anaemic growth over the past decade, but it’s throwing up attractive opportunities for private-sector investors. Simon Brady reports.

With banks in the pillory and credit still scarce, financial institutions are demanding more from their cash-management providers. Can second-tier hopefuls keep up with the pace or will global players reap the rewards? Laurence Neville reports.

With bankers having been held responsible for all of society’s ills since mid-2007, it was only a matter of time before the movie industry latched on to the public mood. A new film released this month called New Town Killers is marketing itself as a "credit crunch film" that "targets the financial sector and points blame for social and economic climate (sic)". Starring Dougray Scott (Mission Impossible 2, Desperate Housewives) the film apparently creates a scenario where the rich and privileged (two bankers) prey on the poor and deprived (everyone else). "It is the juxtaposition of two incredibly successful young bankers against a kid who hasn’t got a chance that creates the tension," the press release helpfully points out. Expect much, much more in a similar vein to come. Come back Jaws, all is forgiven.

Corporate lending has slowed to a trickle, so distressed issuers are turning to debt exchanges and buybacks to avoid bankruptcy. While the leveraged loan market trades well below par, owners and sponsors see this as a no-brainer, but noteholders may have very different ideas. Louise Bowman reports.

Relatively untroubled by sub-prime losses and well-endowed with deposits, Japan’s banks are still enthusiastic lenders. But the bulk of their advances are still domestic – sometimes to potentially shaky borrowers. Will they expand further in lending in international markets? Chris Wright reports.

Although the economy is suffering, charitable giving is still taking place on Wall Street. Trading firm BTIG had its seventh commissions for charity day in May and raised $3 million – up on the $2 million raised last year, and a record raise for BTIG.

Wealth management services are relatively underdeveloped in the Gulf region. But local and foreign private banks and family offices have broad opportunities to develop their business.

The country’s banks are proving among the most resilient in emerging Europe and have helped to boost sentiment towards the country and its stock market. But are there still dangers ahead? Guy Norton reports.

Quantitative easing is being hailed as a policy panacea. The problem is that it sounds a lot like a prescription that causes the very problems it is designed to treat.

Opportunities rising in private equity; $11 billion sitting on sidelines

Investor demand for central and eastern European sovereign risk is strengthening, allowing governments across the region to access the international bond markets again. The Slovak Republic continued a positive trend in May when it attracted €2.8 billion-worth of orders for a €2 billion six-year deal.

The authorities have run out of ways to deal with the debt overhang and to create new credit. The only palatable way out looks to be a period of generalized inflation

CB governor defends one-off devaluation; Hails fight against inflation

The United Arab Emirates has informed the secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council that it is pulling out of the proposed GCC monetary union, according to a report by the country’s official news agency.

Government seeks foreign investors; Opportunities in real estate, cement and power

Philip Lynch, Nomura’s Middle East and Africa chief executive, tells Euromoney his firm has been mandated on a yen-denominated sovereign debt issue from the Middle East, which will come to market in the next few months.

The credit crisis has left the country’s banks relatively unscathed, and regulators around the world want to find out why. But is a conservative culture stopping local players achieving their global potential? Helen Avery investigates.

Over the next few years the financial landscape could see a dramatic shift as market forces, politicians and tighter regulations make banks scale back their foreign businesses and focus more at home. Is the era of global banking over? Sudip Roy reports.