Analysts hit back at the Boston Consulting Group’s prediction that rising wages in China will lead to a shift in American investment back home and, consequently, higher levels of employment

Investment banking revenue figures compiled by Dealogic for the first nine months of 2011 confirm a shocking sudden stop in the third quarter of the year. Global investment banking revenue reached $53.2 billion in the first nine months of 2011, up 10% from the first nine months of 2010. That increase was despite third-quarter revenue of just $11.8 billion being the lowest total since the first quarter of 2009 and down 45% from the second quarter’s $21.4 billion.

The deadline of 2019 recommended by the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) to implement a ‘ring-fence’ is necessary to ensure banks do not fail the requirements outlined, claim analysts.

The trading scandal raises further questions about the validity of UBS’s investment bank and whether an integrated model works for the Swiss group. Experts say they should concentrate on wealth management.

Asset owners and managers are signing up to a series of principles on how they invest in agricultural land. Will this mollify critics of the land grab? Nick Lord reports.

How a US private equity firm got its timings right on investing in the commodities company.

The Native American reservations of three northern US states are on the brink of an oil boom that could reduce global concerns about the future supply of oil. Helen Avery talks to a private equity venture that hopes to produce triple-digit returns for investors while ensuring the Tribal Nations are not swept aside in the rush for oil.

Among those Kazakh companies that have received private equity funding, there is a recognition that the benefits extend far beyond the initial capital commitment they receive. Mikhail Lomtadze, chairman of Kaspi Bank, a leading player in the retail segment of the Kazakh banking market, says that its private equity backer, Russia/CIS specialist Baring Vostok Capital Partners, which acquired a 51% stake in the bank in 2006 (when it was known as Bank Caspian), has played a big role in its strategic development and been instrumental in helping it source management talent and additional funding to grow its business.

The country is proving a tough nut for private equity practitioners to crack. Guy Norton reports from Almaty on the challenges facing the alternative investment industry.

Seven Hungarian banks are placed on downgrade review by Moody’s after new legislation permits the repayment of foreign-denominated mortgages at favourable rates.

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Confidence in emerging markets is dropping because of the eurozone crisis, combined with economic factors in the emerging markets themselves.

Specific liability rules for depositories may cause asset managers to relocate to Hong Kong or Singapore in the medium-term, says Société Générale market infrastructure expert

An analyst at a hedge fund says a number of his peers and research firms have begun to use techniques, computer programs and employees from secret service agencies. The aim is to detect when an executive is lying on an analyst call. He says he knows of several hedge funds and research firms that monitor calls using such techniques.

Chief executive says Société Générale’s exposure to European sovereign risk is minimal and loss of access to funding will speed withdrawal from certain activities just before Moody's ratings downgrade of the bank.

Launched in June, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is an important part of the drive to modernise and diversify the Russian economy. It is another aspect of the government’s efforts to boost international investment in technology-intensive industries.

A Silicon Valley-style venture capital industry centred on Moscow might be unlikely, at least for now. But sustained state encouragement including funding could drive a boom in Russia’s high-tech industry. Dominic O’Neill reports.

Farmland prices in the US have been steadily increasing over the past five years. The average cost of an acre of farmland in the US is $2,350 compared with $2,010 in 2007, although that varies considerably by region. In Champaign, Illinois, and the corn belt, land value is rocketing. One acre of farmland in the corn belt commands $4,590 compared with $3,290 in 2007, and is up 15.9% on last years’ prices. Is it a bubble? The US Department of Agriculture’s chief economist, Joseph Glauber, thinks not. “There are solid fundamentals in that farm income is growing and interest rates are low. If that stops, land prices will flatten out.”

A wave of agricultural land purchases by Middle Eastern investment groups in emerging markets is causing disquiet among governments, NGOs and development institutions. Are these investments for commercial gain, or a grab for food security? Nick Lord reports.

While much of the financing needed to support sustainable production of agriculture will come from commercial lenders and investors, another important group is the multilaterals.

In South Chicago, tucked behind a low-end supermarket in what used to be the old stockyards, a project is under way that might offer a long-term solution to some of the food needs of US cities. A sustainable non-profit firm, with the help of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), has taken over an abandoned meatpacking warehouse and is converting it into a farm. In the basement, pools of tilapia fish, bred for Chicago’s restaurants, are providing waste through a biological reactor. Once the bacteria from the water is converted into nitrates, the same water pumps into a 1,000 square foot pool that provides nutrients and water on which a rotating floating crop of lettuce and herbs grows. It mimics a natural ecosystem. On the roof and the surrounding 2.4 acres of empty land, plots will be created for the growth of organic vegetables, and greenhouses will be erected. Mushrooms and micro-greens are being grown in the basement. A brewery is being installed on the ground floor – the waste from which, via an anaerobic digester, will fuel and supply energy to the entire building. A bakery will be installed on the upper floor with kitchens for local residents to use for producing standard-meeting food items.

Blessed with some of the continent’s most fertile land, Ukraine is of enormous interest to agribusiness. A handful of local and international firms think they have spotted an opportunity. The private sector will be vital to the country fulfilling its potential. Valentina Zarya reports.

Vale is one of the world’s leading mining companies, with activities in 38 countries generating record results. The company is in a strategic sweet spot, exposed to growth in commodity prices and emerging market demand. CFO, Guilherme Cavalcanti, says it is time the company is seen as a global leader, not merely a Latin American champion. Rob Dwyer reports from Rio de Janeiro.

Guilherme Perboyre Cavalcanti became Vale’s executive director for finance and investor relations in July 2010. He joined the company in 2005 as global director for corporate finance, in which role he was responsible for fundraising operations, financial risk management and analysis, and implementation of mergers, acquisitions and partnerships.

Feeding the world is the most pressing issue facing society. Billions of dollars of new investment is needed to forestall future crises in both supply and price. Markets and financial institutions can play a crucial role in meeting the challenge. But how can they do so without being seen to exploit the most crucial resource of all? Sudip Roy reports.

US agriculture generates profits of nearly $100 billion a year. Food and finance are inextricably linked. But international demand for US agriculture products is providing new challenges for the country’s farmers, especially in price volatility. Helen Avery reports.

The euro crisis has already resulted in the region’s country risk scores falling by a greater margin than the Asian economies in 1997. That’s before any of the countries involved has actually defaulted. Andrew Mortimer asks: how many years will Europe take to recover?

The pat excuse for volatility striking markets in August is that the investment heavyweights are on the beach. Not so Alan Brown. The chief investment officer of Schroders met Euromoney as panic turned to hysteria. Brown believes these are among the most treacherous markets he has ever experienced, but finds a few boltholes for investors brave enough to be contrarians, writes Andrew Capon.

Some of China’s wealthiest people are banding together to use their money and local knowledge to invest in the country’s growth businesses. Little is known about these groups, their investments or their returns. Elliot Wilson shines a light on the underground investment culture, and asks what chance international private equity firms have of competing against local intelligence and power.

The economies of developed nations are now dangerously dependent on consumption funded by debt to spur growth. Turning the clock back to make do and mend won’t be painless but it is both inevitable and long overdue.