Indonesia’s young finance minister has made some key decisions since her appointment, winning many friends abroad. Some tough challenges lie ahead; to meet them, Mulyani will need to win more friends at home. Chris Leahy reports.

Riad Salamé faces yet another test of his skills following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hizbullah. He has dealt with previous challenges with flying colours. There’s little to suggest it will be different this time. Sudip Roy reports.

Delegates are warmly welcomed while protesters' placards are policed.

Ebrahim Sheibany is governor of Iran’s central bank, a position he has held for three years. He tells Eric Ellis in Tehran that as far as economic policy is concerned, little has changed, despite the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president.

The latest country risk poll reflects a global economy in good health, despite a period of stock market volatility and the prospect of a slowdown. But the Middle East and the high price of oil could have far-reaching implications, writes Florian Neuhof. Research by Paul Pedzinski.

Big banks are beginning to look beyond the kudos that socially responsible investment brings and are introducing microfinance to the capital markets as a viable, profitable business. Zach Fuchs reports.

When Fitch put Iceland on a negative rating outlook in February the country was facing a heavy current account deficit as well as an asset price and credit bubble. But the banks and politicians think that it was all a misunderstanding. Laurence Neville reports.

The hedge fund industry has exploded; conservative estimates suggest there are almost 500 funds based in the region. Most have ridden the wave of Asia’s rising markets. Now those returns are getting harder to come by. But, as Helen Avery reports, increased opportunities to take short positions offer managers hope of generating new, enhanced returns.

The unbundling of execution and research costs will dramatically accelerate the global consolidation of equity broking firms. But it also raises questions about the quality and efficiency of the buy side.

Companies with optimized financial supply chains have 30% to 35% better market capitalization than companies that haven’t. However, forging the links between treasury and operational departments is hard, particularly as supply chains enlarge and globalize.

Iceland’s financial supervisory authority, the FME, has kept a close eye on the health of Iceland’s big three banks, says Jonas Fridrik Jónsson, director general.

Foreign banks are pushing the sector forward even as the rewards come in. The capital market is also showing signs of life but would benefit from more determined decision-making. Florian Neuhof reports.

Güler Sabanci, who chairs Turkey’s Sabanci Group, talks to Peter Koh about foreign partnerships, international expansion, the group’s strategic direction and the difficulties of running a family business.

The recent dramatic widening of euro swap spreads means that euro-denominated debt is becoming cheaper for agencies and supranationals. Could this signal the start of a fundamental shift away from dollar bonds for these issuers? Lawrence White reports.

With a successful Eurobond behind it, the republic is beginning to fulfil its promise as a strategic part of the Balkans. Oonagh Leighton reports.

“The events of February and March can be blamed in part on the relative lack of knowledge about the Icelandic economy and its peculiarities, which was reflected in some reports,” says prime minister Geir Haarde.

Japanese outbound M&A is reaching levels not seen since the 1980s as corporates seek to consolidate their newly strengthened positions. Chris Wright reports.

The Republic of Indonesia’s successful $2 billion issue this March has given an impetus to the revival of the country’s corporate bond issuance. Nick Parsons reports.

Oji Paper’s bid for rival Hokuetsu breaches a Japanese taboo on hostile takeovers. It has also prompted some extraordinary, perhaps illogical, defence tactics. Is this the shape of things to come in Japanese M&A? Chris Wright reports.

After EU accession in 2004, the next target for central Europe’s governments is the euro. In the scramble to comply with the Maastricht criteria, have they started to borrow techniques, invented by their western European counterparts, for massaging the numbers? Kathryn Wells reports, with research by Pauline Thomas.

Foreign investors have made fortunes investing in Russia. But now they are looking to go deeper, and are packing their bags to discover Russia’s regions. Julian Evans reports from three of Russia’s developing regions.

Increasingly sophisticated Russian retail investors are seeking new products to beat interest rate returns. Patrick Gill reports.

Iran’s authorities are looking to invigorate the country’s private sector with plans to sell up to $110 billion-worth of state assets over the next 10 years. Can the programme attract the foreign investors it needs to succeed? And can Iran’s government learn from past mistakes? Euromoney reports.

A few big foreign banks have recently suspended their activities, but they are far outweighed by institutions that intend to maintain a connection. And Iran’s prominence as an oil producer means that it sustains substantial economic relations with foreign export credit agencies and governments. Philip Moore reports.

CDS trading volumes in Latin America are growing fast as credit derivatives become an increasingly important investment tool. Leticia Lozano reports on the impact on the region’s capital markets.

It offers double-digit yields, is not correlated with the equity market and provides secure, long-term returns. Allocations of investment capital to real estate have therefore ballooned – and look set to keep on growing. Louise Bowman reports.

In an investment banking world dominated by US bulge-bracket operations, UBS has muscled its way into the global league. Success has come despite its singular provenance, say critics, and, argues CEO Peter Wuffli, because of it. The Swiss bank’s head explains this reasoning to Chris Leahy and discusses developments on banking’s latest battlefront.

If things go according to plan, next January there could be a fundamental change to the rules under which more than 50% of Europe’s invested real estate is financed. Louise Bowman reports.

Bank TuranAlem is growing fast and has set its sights on toppling the largest bank in the country, Kazkommertsbank. The next stage in its growth strategy could involve an IPO to attract international investors.

Its capital markets are a hive of activity – with record levels of IPO activity, decreasing funding costs and a first hostile takeover attempt. But many of the most active companies say that the queen bee of government is too strict: tax and infrastructure problems are preventing the country from reaching full potential. Lawrence White went to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to investigate.