Hedge funds returns are rising; does this mean volatility is back?

Investors were given a faint hope that Yukos might yet escape bankruptcy proceedings last month when Russian oil company Rosneft agreed to acquire $482 million of outstanding debt that Yukos owed to a consortium of international lenders.

Raising capital adequacy requirements from N2 billion to N25 billion has freed Nigerian banks from reliance on public sector funds and better equipped them to finance bigger projects within the oil, gas and telecommunication sectors.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is one of the world’s biggest institutional investors. It is also one of the most guarded. It publishes no numbers. It seldom makes any public statements. In a rare interview, two of its most senior officials lift the lid on the organization, revealing the reasons for its success. Sudip Roy reports from Abu Dhabi.

Every market participant has had something to gain from corporate hybrid securities. Bond fund managers have delighted in high yields; issuers have enjoyed cheap equity. Ratings agencies have been paid for their trouble, investment banks have pocketed juicy fees and traders have revelled in the volatility. But what seems a perfect fit might well fall apart at the seams in an unfolding credit downturn. This will either expose the defects in the market and destroy it or validate hybrids as an asset class.

More opco/propco deals are likely given rising real estate values and investor interest in secured debt.

What does Merrill Lynch’s $9.8 billion BlackRock deal mean for the European asset management industry?

Introducing a light-hearted look at the financial markets players as well as the issues that keep bankers up at night. In this piece Abigail brings us commentary on Deutsche Bank, HSBC, M&S tomatoes, and Sandy Weill's sweater.