After another annus horribilis for Europe in 2012, there has been a gradual but steady improvement in market sentiment this year. Although the growth outlook still looks weak, there has at least been some respite from the relentless worry about debt default and euro break-up.

The Shanghai free-trade zone (FTZ), China’s grand experiment with liberalizing interest rates and opening its capital account, has only a short window of opportunity to convince the markets that the Communist Party is serious about reform.

When the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) created footnote 88 in the final US rules governing swap execution facilities (SEFs) – requiring all multi-lateral trading facilities to register as SEFs whether they trade regulated swaps or not – the prospect it would be closed on the day of the registration deadline was probably not on the agenda.

In the coming decades, commercial banks will face substantial challenges from the greying of societies around the world. These will range from a declining demand for credit in the economy and a shrinking stream of regular payroll deposits to tougher competition.

Germany’s rejection of parties opposed to closer eurozone integration is a win for Europe. But the optimists must not get carried away, says Peter Bofinger, a long-time adviser to the German Government.

As worldwide consumption of mobile data and e-commerce services continues to grow exponentially, the payments landscape is being transformed by electronic and mobile payments. In particular, mobile offers huge opportunities. Understanding of this fast-moving market is critical, but it is being hampered by a lack of accurate market data.

Moody’s has upped its game by disseminating more detail on how it measures sovereign bond default risk. However, like previous attempts to refine and improve its market signalling, this latest announcement still raises several questions about the usefulness of its ratings.

The European Commission’s latest draft legislation proposal governing financial market benchmarks, released on September 18, reveals that lawmakers have dropped some of the more onerous regulatory requirements that were causing market participants concern over the summer.

Corporate treasurers are riding out the volatility buffeting emerging market (EM) currencies, employing a variety of strategies to mitigate exchange rate risk, from forward contracts to natural hedges, such as operating in local currency.

The sharp depreciation of Indonesia’s currency risks plunging the country into a balance-of-payments crisis because any competitive edge afforded by the weak rupiah is being sapped by high inflation, without more aggressive monetary action, say analysts.