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I've just returned from Germany, visiting the great in government, bureaucracy, Bundesbank and the European Monetary Institute. I'm convinced the Bundesbank will raise interest rates by 25 basis points before the year-end and by around 200bp by the end of 1998.

No firm is better than Doughty Hanson at repackaging ropy European manufacturers and selling them off at a premium, or - to put it more kindly - transforming underperforming privately held businesses into dynamic public corporations. This secretive firm of venture capitalists is making money hand over fist and generating lucrative business for investment bankers. But can it find enough deals to keep up its impressive track record? Peter Lee reports.

Systematic traders and risk managers rely on tons of historical data to help predict probable gains and losses. So how will they predict the behaviour of the euro during its first few trading days, weeks, months? By David Shirreff.

The legalistic stuff at the back of loan agreements is too dull for most bankers to bother about. But you need to know why it is there. By Christopher Stoakes.

First former Wall Street banker Jim Rogers did it. Now a Danish fund manager based in Hong Kong is to repeat his motorbike odyssey around the world, the result of which was the book Investment Biker.

Banca Popolare di Milano (BPM) has come up with an innovative bond linked to top names in the clothing, eyewear and accessories industries. The L20 billion ($11 million) self-led fashion-linked bond is based on an underlying basket of 12 international stocks ranging from Benetton, Bulgari and Gucci to Escada, Hermès, Luxottica and Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy. The securities pay interest when the paper matures in two years' time: the holders will receive the appreciation between the value of the basket on payment date and its average price over the life of the bond.

Slovenia is the wealthiest country to have emerged from communist rule, but is it losing its way? Exports are flagging, industry is becoming politicized and the stock market is shaky. Even the country's successful banking reforms have ground to a halt. Gavin Gray reports on the dangers ahead.

Issuer: Rheinische Hypothekenbank

Market-watchers may detect just a hint of arrogance when a country not yet six months out of civil war starts eyeing the markets. Even more so when the country's new leaders have consistently directed their vitriol at powerful governments and organizations such as the US, the UN, the IMF and the World Bank. But Laurent Kabila, president of the new Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has been dropping some heavy hints of late.

The recent volcanic eruptions on the Caribbean island of Montserrat have brought death to its inhabitants, destroyed several towns and villages, and forced the evacuation of over half the island's 11,000 population. But despite the turmoil, Royal Bank of Canada is not leaving - yet.

When the Choksey dynasty sold its stake in India's leading paint company, it unleashed a drama fit for a Bollywood movie, embroiling foreign securities firms and a UK multinational in a tale of intrigue, betrayal and family feuding. Steven Irvine reports on India's first hostile takeover bid.

For a while in the early 1990s, Vietnam looked set to make a late sprint to catch up with its much richer neighbours in south east Asia. A far-reaching programme of economic liberalization attracted a wave of foreign investment and unleashed strong economic growth. But in the past few years foreign interest has flagged and investment projects have frequently become bogged down in bureaucracy and corruption. With the latest industrial output figures showing the lowest growth rate in years, it is becoming clear that the country's underdeveloped financial markets are holding back the pace of economic growth.