Falling birth rates and an ageing population should force Asia’s financial institutions to face up to the possibility of a pensions crunch.

Pension plans are on the verge of a big move into riskier, illiquid investments to deliver promised returns; they might be better advised to curtail those promises.

The strategies and dimensions of Gulf sovereign wealth funds are an arcane subject made more mysterious by the lack – apart from Abu Dhabi’s fund – of published annual reports. Euromoney pieces together a picture of their structure from the fragments of information available.

Private equity groups see the country as a rare growth market, particular the consumer sector. The only difficulty is fending off competition from other funds – plus finding reasonable valuations and owners willing to give up control.

Includes Bonds, Equities, Loans, M&A, MTN, Project Finance

Investors reckon Obama and Romney offer starkly opposing prospects for US bond and equity markets, according to a Barclays Capital survey.

London remains one of the top cities for international investment, but the deputy mayor for policy and planning argues that renewable energy is not a priority for the city.

A recent report by the US House Intelligence Committee has warned that Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE pose security threats to the US and therefore should be barred from making acquisitions in the country. Does Chinese oil company CNOOC pose a similar threat?

Small banks reduce lending by $100 billion; Crowdfunders join banks to source loans

Spare capacity in the UK economy is larger than consensus estimates, potentially justifying looser fiscal and monetary policies, argues Capital Economics.

The territorial dispute between China and Japan over a group of uninhabited islands is damaging trade and financial relations.

Stagnation or slow growth everywhere in the West, but a little optimism about UK employment may be justified. How can jobs grow by the GDP stagnate? Mystery!

The liquidity-starved corporate bond market desperately needs to find a post-regulation equilibrium. Banks just can’t commit capital to market-making. So the smarter investors are looking at ways of delivering it themselves.

In an attempt to draw Chinese investment into its crippled economy, North Korea has courted China in the development of special economic zones. However, analysts are bearish on the extent of economic change and success of the project.

For equity investors wondering what the implications are of the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank reengaging in another round of monetary policy intervention, Morgan Stanley have already done the work on what to look out for.

Despite a recent fall-off in Chinese demand for gold, the metal is seen officially as a core part of economic strategy.

The credit boom is serving the real-money investment community well, but many supposedly smart-money hedge funds and investment banks are missing out on the party.

China’s leading brokerage firms continue to dominate domestic business. As China becomes an ever-greater slice of Asian investment business, can they translate that into a regional leadership position as well?

Global investors are now more concerned about the tail risk associated with the US’s so-called fiscal cliff than the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, which for the first time since April 2011 is no longer their chief fear, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s latest fund manager survey.

French insurer has big plans for a novel way of providing corporate finance.

After five years of crisis, bankruptcies, redrafting of regulation and redrawn business plans, the biggest structural change yet to the banking system is on its way. Euromoney looks at what the great disintermediation means for financial markets – and why it may not all be bad news for banks.

‘Unrealistic’ valuations dampen interest; Reversal of last few years of flows

Road and rail package worth $66 billion; Private sector wary of government controls

There’s a problem in project finance. Banks no longer want to hold assets. Governments want to launch huge infrastructure projects. Can traditional asset managers and pension funds, which like the risk/reward profile of infrastructure, fill the gap?

China’s $600 billion 2008 pump-priming of the economy was centrally orchestrated. A 2012 version, driven by local Communist Party mandarins, risks throwing even more vast sums into vacuous and wasteful projects. The central powers don’t seem to share their zeal.

An investor-protection act between Taiwan and mainland China is fuelling speculation of blockbuster investments. Such deals are vital – even if only in a symbolic sense to begin with.

How long can tapping into short-lived, ECB-driven euphoria be the only trading strategy in town?

Romney and Obama support losing banks; US falling behind Europe in the ‘non-bank bank’ sector.

Russia is planning to launch a new state-owned investment agency next year to invest the country’s oil wealth in global financial markets, finance minister Anton Siluanov tells Euromoney in an exclusive interview.