A special report prepared by Union Bank of Switzerland.

A special report prepared by Societe Generale.

The abolition of exchange controls and the start of privatization should do wonders for the illiquid Johannesburg Stock Exchange, but fuller representation of black businesses on the equity market is a vital change that's not so easily accomplished. Mark Ashurst reports from Johannesburg.

There's a good chance the next UK government will be left-of-centre Labour, whose previous terms of office have usually ended in inflation and currency crisis. Soft-spoken Labour politicians can't allay fears - among foreign investors and City practitioners - that a change of government will trigger a market correction and more controls on the financial sector. The reason for the fears: new-look Labour's overtures to private capital are vague and non-committal. Even Labour supporters are saying it's time to put flesh on the bones. By David Shirreff

Think funding, think America. That's what many borrowers are doing as US interest rates sit at historical lows and investors roll out the welcome mat. And you don't have to be triple-A rated to join the bandwagon, as Norman Peagam explains.

At a parliamentary inquiry on February 28, Michael Lawrence, former chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, told how the board fired him eight weeks earlier "without warning". Was he so terrible to deal with, or did some board members see him as a threat to their continued enjoyment of privileged advantage? Stephanie Cooke reports.

A special report prepared by Credit Suisse.