Liability management can be a double-edged sword.

The Big Mac index is old hat.

OMX bids for Slovenian stock exchange.

There are generally clear advance indications of ECB interest rate increases.

RBC Capital Markets announced the completion of two of the first ever rouble-denominated bonds since the rouble became fully convertible.

The takeover battle between Marfin and Piraeus pits two Greek banking heroes against each other.

US firms maintain their dominance of the global investment banking industry, according to a new table put together by Euromoney.

Banks’ predictions for 2007 are remarkably similar to those of a year ago.

Deutsche Bank’s European securitization research notes the market’s impressive growth rate in Russia in 2006.

Leading Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital has added yet another banker to its already impressive staff, which has extensive investment banking experience in emerging European capital markets.

Albania has something of an image problem abroad.

Greece is planning to issue up to €1.5bn in 50-year bonds through a private placement in the first half of this year, says the director general of the sovereign’s public debt management agency.

Reactions focuses on how the world's businesses, insurers and reinsurers cope with and transfer risk, and looks at the concerns facing senior executives at insurance and reinsurance companies.

Diversification in the currency mix of fixed-income portfolios is the order of the day.

Corporate treasury bears the brunt of regulatory and technological change, and those changes are accelerating.

One market segment – banks – has been noticeably absent from the glut of Russian companies rushing to undertake IPOs in recent years.

Which regions and countries offer most opportunity?

Traditionally seen as great for service, but second best in investment performance, private banks have been polishing up their act, investing in research and third-party products to diversify portfolios and win back market share in asset management from other financial service providers.

Heinrich Schaller, joint CEO of the Wiener Börse, believes that he can challenge AIM for listings for western European companies with an eastern European focus.

As a result of the overwhelming demand, the stock soared 40% when it debuted on the ZSE in early December, hitting K2,400 within minutes of starting trading.

Southeastern Europe is experiencing a retail lending boom.

Which products/services do you see most demand for?

Western investment banks are competing to acquire Russian investment houses, while the chief executive of VTB, the country’s second-largest bank, is prioritizing either the acquisition of a local investment bank or the establishment of a partnership with an international player.

The May-June 2006 markets crunch was a dress rehearsal for liquidity implosion.

Banks have been profiting from a rising tide of consumer borrowing.

What’s bad news for the hard-pressed bean counters at financial institutions across Europe trying to curb the exorbitant expenses claims of their equity capital market teams promises to be good news for AirAstana, the leading Kazakh airline that’s one of the candidates for a stock market listing in 2007.

If you’re looking to generate high returns on your equity investments then forget western Europe; the western Balkans is where the real action is.

The causes of unprecedented global financial imbalances are complex, and understanding them is key to predicting what happens next.

Charles Dumas warns of a ‘reverse Robin Hood’ scenario.

Car parks that rival Monaco for the quality of the marques, apartment prices that rival those in New York, but a stock exchange capitalization of only $50 billion.

M&A and capital expenditure needs likely to drive more deals.

Major errors of concept and execution in the Iraq war have weakened the US: a sharp lesson in the limits of what seemed like limitless power.

Oil-rich oligarchs strolling through Kensington might be becoming a common sight but a visit by senior Russian politicians is not an everyday occurrence in London.

Uncertainty and opportunity as the central Asian republic prepares a currency float.

Amendments to banking legislation that will abolish the requirement for foreign investors to obtain permission from the central bank before buying equity in Russian banks passed their first reading in the Duma (parliament) at the end of November.

Corporate treasury bears the brunt of regulatory and technological change, and those changes are accelerating.

LET’S BE HONEST, Croatians are not exactly renowned for hiding their light under a bushel.

India’s recent rapid growth masks the fact that it still lags far behind China in terms of its economic development.

Europe’s economies are split in two: the surpluses of the centre and the north, versus the deficits of the UK, France, and the Mediterranean and accession countries.

ACCORDING TO PRIVATE equity adviser Almeida Capital, private equity funds worldwide raised $225 billion in 2005.

Another record year for financial institutions suggests no end to the boom in global financial markets.

Rising intra-regional trade and investment are helping to underpin the economic fortunes of the states that formerly constituted Yugoslavia.

Is the post-Goldilocks crash inevitable? Charles Dumas looks at an alternative scenario, where the bubble refuses to burst.

In spite of all the takeover talk among major global exchanges, and the heavy consolidation in eastern Europe’s banking sector, not everyone believes that acquisitions are the only way to expand business in the region.

Which type of client will be the highest growth area in 2007?

London-based exchange launches derivatives on LSE-listed Russian stocks.

Private banks have never had it so good.

The Saudi banking sector is set for sustained growth on the back of GCC-wide economic development.

“The main problem Kazakh pension funds face today is a lack of financial instruments,” says Issabayeva Gaini, executive director at Halyk Pension Fund.