Belgium is seen as one of the bright spots in the eurozone and competition is increasing for the assets of the country’s wealthiest individuals. For those with investment expertise and knowledge of the intricacies of the Belgian wealth market, the future looks promising.

Related coverage:

Euromoney’s inaugural credit survey confirms the broad market power of three elite fixed-income houses, and points to a widening gulf between the haves and have-nots of the global credit markets. Joti Mangat reports.

Banks desperate for business are faced with renewed demands for hard underwriting.

Exit would be more expensive than bailing out the periphery.

CDO Wells Notice has serious ramifications for S&P.

"You shouldn’t automatically take it for granted that the world is going to end"

Investment banking revenue figures compiled by Dealogic for the first nine months of 2011 confirm a shocking sudden stop in the third quarter of the year. Global investment banking revenue reached $53.2 billion in the first nine months of 2011, up 10% from the first nine months of 2010. That increase was despite third-quarter revenue of just $11.8 billion being the lowest total since the first quarter of 2009 and down 45% from the second quarter’s $21.4 billion.

Mass lawsuits filed against issuers; Banks likely to settle out of court

Hassell shuns future acquisitions; Litigation and regulation unavoidable expenses

Investment bank expects 30% fall in revenues; FICC business holding up

GDP growth must be sufficient to outweigh possible deleterious effects of sovereign budget cuts and measures to increase revenues. It’s an impossible ask for Japan and an extremely tough one for the eurozone.

Chief executives say French banks’ exposure to risky European sovereigns is minimal; Loss of access to funding will speed asset and business disposals

The run on Morgan Stanley’s stock and credit default swaps in the final days of September had alarming similarities to the collapse in confidence in the bank during 2008.

The mood at the IMF meetings was doom and gloom. News of UBS’s rogue trader loss didn’t help.

Benefits from growth markets; Shake-up in equities division

European banks are looking to their counterparts in Asia to help them with their capital-raising problems, according to sources in Hong Kong familiar with the deals, but are struggling to sell more paper as the news out of Europe worsens.

Joe Hockey, like many Australians, didn’t agree with our decision to recognize Wayne Swan’s achievements by giving him Euromoney’s finance minister of the year award. We didn’t expect him to either. He’s the opposition treasurer in the Canberra parliament after all.

Emerging markets central banks are moving away from using rate changes solely to control inflation. Brazil seems to have joined the trend.

Anti-monopoly regulator approves plan; New securities laws awaited

Disclosures from UBS about the details of the alleged fraudulent trading that has cost the bank $2.3 billion raise more questions than they answer about the extraordinary episode.

Faced with an unpalatable menu of policy choices, there is concern that another course will be taken: financial repression. It is the economic prescription favoured by Fagin. Bondholders should beware.

Trading scandal raises further questions about validity of investment bank; Does the integrated model work for UBS?

What a difference a few years make. Warren Spector couldn’t have looked less like a banker had he tried at the showing of A Bird of the Air – his first movie as an executive producer since being ousted from Bear Stearns in 2007 before the bank failed. Dressed in a bright-yellow raincoat, the former co-president of Bear Stearns amicably chatted among the 50-odd audience that had come to see his debut production at the East Village movie theatre in Manhattan. The director of his film is his wife, actress Margaret Whitton, who starred in the 1980s films The Secret of my Success and 9-1/2 weeks.

Amid the gloom of the IMF meetings, it was comforting to know that at least some people in the US Treasury were having a good time.

Medvedev and Putin’s next finance minister has a lot to live up to.

Telecom IPOs prepare for market; Bank M&A activity in pipeline

"Don’t be a dick"

More pressure on East African currencies; Kenyan central bank raises rates

Banks need better regulation, but the terms and conditions set out by Basle III already look woefully out of date.