October 2005
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LATEST ARTICLES
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Citigroup and HSBC are neck and neck at the pinnacle of the cash management business, according to Euromoney's latest poll. Other firms trail far behind.
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The UAE's financial regulator, the Securities and Commodities Authority, announced on September 6 that the case of two individuals and a brokerage suspected of manipulating the stock price of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) had been referred to the judiciary.
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"Listen, I'm one of the biggest risk managers in Europe. I run a credit risk book of over €60 billion. By comparison most funds are little pussies."
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Covered bond issuers are increasingly clear about the merits of solid execution, as Santander's and DexMa's latest deals show.
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Legislation is less than two years old but demand for alternative investments seems to be picking up at last.
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Contrary to popular belief, management meetings might be a complete waste of time for fund managers.
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Questions remain over how best to price ultra long-dated linkers and the role of hedge funds.
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Private-equity combos turn to ABS market on second biggest ever buyout deal.
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A new borrower is using securitization technology to help save lives.
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"One thing we can say definitively is that we do not have a desire to be a bulge-bracket investment bank. Ours is a more measured approach. We will only grow domestically and internationally where our client base and potential client base leads us."
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A punctured US property bubble is not far down the line as inflationary pressures mount. When it comes, as treasury yields inevitably move up, the US economy will slow sharply
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A long-only fund run by traditional asset manager bears little resemblance to the long-only fund run by a hedge fund.
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The Special Administrative Region's regulator has botched its attempt to clean up the thorny issue of pre-deal research.
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The clubby world of private banking is under threat. The UBS/Julius Baer deal shows how tough it will be for foreign banks to break into the market.
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Investment by foreign banks and investors in domestic Chinese banks is not over, but it seems that the recent frenzy of activity has abated, with most of the big deals now signed or at least agreed.
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Continued fuel subsidies will make it difficult to cope with rising oil prices.
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Distressed companies and their creditors look to advisory boutique to "bring calm to apparent cataclysms".
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There has been a quantum leap in the economic literacy of the presidents in the region
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Stalled state sell-off is finally yielding impressive results.
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The Lebanese government is believed to be considering a $500 million international bond issue to cover debt payments reaching maturity.
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The asset class is likely to outperform emerging-market debt as more funds enter the market.
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Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko's announcement on September 8 that he had sacked his entire cabinet, including prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, could hardly have come at a worse time for the investment banks appointed to arrange the sovereign's latest Eurobond issue.
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The long arm of the US law has reached the tiny enclave of Macau, the special administrative region of China famous for its casinos and racy nightlife.
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World Bank report calls for public-private partnerships to help the region match the pace of Asia's development.
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Lead manages Guatemalan bank securitization deal.
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Competition in clearing and settlement doesn't work. The US shows that only a centralized clearing system can promote vigorous exchange competition.
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BoB: the builders' friend
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Chancellor Brown is breaking the rules he set for himself when prudence is ditched for unfettered spending.
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Tourism, travel and manufacturing are the targets of investment worth up to HK$15 billion.
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Wachovia's Ken Thompson wants his firm to be the best financial institution in the US. His ambitions extend to investment banking. As Wachovia makes its move on Wall Street, Kathryn Tully spoke to Thompson and the rest of his management team. Should the traditional bulge bracket be concerned?
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It's pretty unlikely that Hugo Chávez calls too many of his friends "homies" or knows the difference between Grandmaster Flash and Tupac Shakur. But that didn't stop him from being cheered during a visit to the Bronx last month.
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New fixed-income products often attract pet names from market participants and commentators. Sadly, in the covered bond sector, the emergence of the UK product came and went without a catchy nickname being dreamt up.
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Optimism about Japanese economy and stock market is gaining strength.
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Platform's embarrassing slowdowns are specific not systemic, company says.
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But liquidity – as yet limited to indices – has still to take off on single names.
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In recent months several European central banks have started to diversify their portfolios, having traditionally bought only government debt. Leading fund managers are in the frame to manage credit portfolios of central bank reserves.
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After a failed foray into treasuries, Eurex US is now pinning its business development plans on currency futures.
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Banks are muscling in on US auto finance as vehicle makers divert capital to manufacturing and marketing.
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The credit derivatives market has expanded fast in recent months. But the growing backlog of unconfirmed trades has caused concern.
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Hybrid debt issuance continues to be the main focus for the European corporate bond market.
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Do value-driven debt providers have a role to play in LBO financing? Private-equity borrowers appear increasingly cautious about including hedge funds in leveraged finance syndicates.
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Dutch law MTN programme enables simpler structure.
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Big bank players back electronic developments from a regional exchange.
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Flotation of the UK fund manager still only one of several strategies being considered.
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Syndicate Asset Management's acquisition of Ashcourt Holdings for £13.1 million ($23.7 million) might signal a new approach in the UK fund management industry, marked by a shift towards the consolidation of small funds.
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Will European fund managers be exempted from value-added tax on their outsourced management services?
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Wreathed in a thick summer smog, it seems that Kuala Lumpur is not so much what tourist ads call "truly Asia" as "truly hazier". But the decision to publish air pollution data – previously a state secret – is at least a signal that Malaysia's politics are becoming clearer.
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Hurricane Katrina has wreaked havoc in numerous ways but insurance companies appear well positioned to deal with the single largest event in the industry's history.
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And the latest hedge fund manager is... ...former SEC chairman and corporate governance honcho Richard Breeden. Breeden headed the SEC from 1989 to 1993 and acted as corporate monitor of WorldCom and, more recently, KPMG. Unsurprisingly, given his experience, Breeden is launching an event-driven activist fund, profiting from companies that improve their corporate governance. The fund is being launched next January and Breeden hopes to raise between $500 million and $1 billion.
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Hugo Chávez watch
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US buyout heavyweight opens in Asia
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Hibernia deal suffers hit from Katrina
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With a growing retail DVD business, MGM needed a revamped cash management system to make the most of the cashflows. In the end the system's highly successful implementation might well have also increased the company's attractiveness as an acquisition target.
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Sustained competition, falling margins and regulatory pressures mean that the world of cash management and payments is heading towards an inflection point. The EU's Single Euro Payments Area project is adding yet more fuel to the fire that will force banks to re-evaluate their strategies, writes Peter Koh.
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Companies from emerging markets are on the acquisition trail, and their targets now include firms in North America and Europe. Sudip Roy reports on a trend that could be the biggest driver of global M&A transactions within the next few years.
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At the IMF/WB meetings the great and the good of the international bond markets gathered to sell their wares to sovereign and supranational issuers. These potential clients remain some of the trophy issuers in debt capital markets, but they are not the kings of issuers they once were.
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Steps along the right path
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Convertible arbitrage and short-selling have been the cornerstones of hedge fund strategies. Competition and difficult underlying markets, however, are forcing managers to reconsider their game plans.
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Hedge fund managers are tuning their guitars in anticipation of this year's Rocktoberfest. The annual event is a chance for hedge fund managers to swap their chinos for Spandex and perform to raise money for charity.
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Rating agency Fitch has released its latest assessment of when the 10 countries that joined the EU in 2004 are likely to join the European exchange rate mechanism (ERM) II and adopt the euro. Its findings are not particularly encouraging.
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After three years of heavy losses, Argentina's banks are once again in the black. The sustainability of their recovery, though, depends on expanded lending to the private sector and greater duration for their liabilities. Sudip Roy reports.
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Monolines hire London ABS bankers
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There's plenty of capital available to borrowers at attractive prices. But the headline numbers mask the complex dynamics at work.
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But owner banks should be cautious about the effects of a spin-off.
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Paying a pop star to perform at your wedding is so underwhelming. At least, this seems to have been the thinking behind 33-year-old Russian billionaire Andrei Melnichenko's decision to employ not one but four during his nuptials to model and former Miss Yugoslavia Aleksandra Kokotovich in Antibes, France, last month.
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Part of an increasingly active market attracting foreign investors.
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Who's buying whom?
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Singapore government investment fund Temasek Holdings completed its long-trailed debut bond in September, raising $1.75 billion in 10-year money. The deal was increased from an original $1 billion amid strong demand for paper that was AAA-rated by Moody's and Standard & Poor's.
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The City of London's usual summer slowdown was even more apparent than usual this summer as bankers' attention was grabbed by the most exciting Test Match series ever. England narrowly beat Australia for the Ashes, the sport of cricket's most prized trophy. The UK population, normally only interested in the histrionics of footballers and their wives, fell in love with cricket once again as England outplayed their arch-rivals for the first time in almost 20 years.
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Sovereign also issues first global deal denominated in local currency.
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The 2012 London Olympics are likely to go over budget because of FX risk
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People moves:
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After political shenanigans over alleged election fraud and fiscal worries about the suspension of the expanded VAT, the Philippines finally completed its debt funding requirement for the year with a 10-year $1 billion issue led by Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and UBS.
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Chairman Raymond Baer describes Julius Baer's deal as truly transformational. A rising stock price suggests investors agree. Analysts identify the private bank, after the purchase of SBC Wealth Management, as the outstanding restructuring story in European banking. But this deal wasn't what the market expected.