Companies take advantage of the growing popularity of the Fundo de Investimento em Direitos Creditórios, or the FIDC market. The Brazilian ABS fund, (FIDC) is growing in popularity as it enables companies to improve their debt situation by reducing the cost of funding and lengthening tenors.

SovRisc is capital markets disintermediation and may transform the $50 billion export loan guarantee business.

Proposals in the French budget bill for 2006 and discussions in parliament last month could lead to significant changes in France’s public sector debt and risk management. Risk management role for AFT as Cades remains separate borrower.

America might still run the internet, but even the biggest bank in the world has to take its time when it comes to cyber-squatting.

Australia’s new-issue market heated up this month with the announcement of three large IPOs. Goodman Fielder, a leading Australian foods business, controlled by New Zealand entrepreneur Graeme Hart, intends to raise about A$2 billion ($1.48 billion) from a listing in Australia and New Zealand. Singapore Power’s holding company for its Australian electricity assets, SP AusNet, has also filed a prospectus for a simultaneous IPO in Australia and Singapore that is expected to raise approximately A$1.6 billion. Another electricity asset, Spark Infrastructure, filed in November for an IPO that aims to raise A$1.8 billion to fund the acquisition of minority interests in Australian power assets held by Hong Kong’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure.

According to Morgan Stanley’s chief economist, Stephen Roach: “India is on the cusp of something big.” Roach professes to be as excited about India as he was about China in the late 1990s. The source of this excitement is the country’s burgeoning consumer sector, which, as a share of GDP, is already higher than that of Europe, Japan and China.

Although deals by large listed companies grab the headlines, BEE is having an impact at all levels of South African economic life. Despite its short investment horizon, some bankers see a natural fit between private equity and BEE.

Brazil's hedge funds break through

The exchange traded fund market is an area in which Barclays Global Investors can lay solid claim to being more successful than State Street Global Advisers. BGI has built up its ETF business (iShares) in five years to a level of $178 billion, compared with SSgA’s $80 billion.

Mexico has long been one of the most innovative sovereign issuers when it comes to liability management. Now, the sovereign has become the first developing nation to sell warrants, allowing investors to exchange foreign debt with local.

The Japanese bank no longer appears to be targeting the frequent issuers business.

As the festive season approaches, speculation is rife about who will get the lion’s share of this year’s bonus pool. But that’s nothing compared to the build-up to the Morgan Stanley staff pantomime. As the bank is again generously sponsoring the season at London’s Old Vic Theatre, where Kevin Spacey is artistic director, its employees also get the chance to tread the theatre’s hallowed boards. After the Old Vic production of pantomime ‘Aladdin’, Morgan Stanley takes over the theatre for one night in January to put on its own show.

Originally established under the white minority regime to compulsorily house non-white labour outside the cities, South Africa’s townships are now obvious targets for a nascent low-income housing finance market.

Hidden issuers are using swaps rather than bonds

Banque du Liban et d’Outre Mer (Blom), Lebanon’s largest bank, with a paid-up capital of $128.3 million, is set to continue its regional expansion via its acquisition of Egyptian-Romanian bank, Misr Romanian Bank (MRB). Saad Azhari, general manager of Blom, said: “We expect the acquisition to be completed in the first two weeks of December [2005].” He expects Blom eventually to hold between 80% and 100% of MRB’s shares.

There’s little to choose between the world’s two heavyweight institutional fund managers as they square up to fight for profitability. BGI and SSgA both have commendable records and both are now testing out new strategies.

Brazil's hedge funds break through

Standard Chartered has gained management of the White Pine structured investment vehicle from JP Morgan Chase. The transfer, in addition to the Whistlejacket SIV, makes Standard one of the larger players. White Pine was established by Banc One by structured finance stalwart, Jim Irvine. Apparently an internal team led by Irvine also bid to take over management of the vehicle. This is a business where economies of scale matter. The size of White Pine is $8 billion while Whistlejacket has $6.5 billion. But Standard Chartered is still some way behind the largest SIV, Sigma, which has $30 billion under management.

First non-investment grade trade shows the spoils to come in distressed debt trading.

Conditions attached to buy-out completion is more a sign of desperation than discernment.

But Singh’s government must hold steady on the road to reform.

Trichet’s statements have profound implications for some EU member states

As banks get ready to divide up their bonus pool in December or early January, some fixed income traders had better get ready to be disappointed.

The wounds from the region’s financial crisis may have healed on company balance sheets but the trauma remains

It is one of the great ironies of the European bond market that one of the largest market distortions occurs within the sovereign sector and are caused by the direct actions of Europe’s sovereign debt managers. The regulatory environment in Europe is tighter than ever, with the EU taking an aggressive and sometimes misguided stance in its aim of eliminating distortions in the capital markets, notably with its Market Abuse Directive and MiFID. And yet, despite all the EU’s talk of market efficiency, it ignores the market abuse happening right under its nose.

Can wealth management truly thrive within the confines of an investment bank?

Investment banks need to think carefully about which institutions they market their services to.

The massive shift of equity ownership needed in post-apartheid South Africa was always going to be a tough task. There will never be a template for deals, but a range of structuring and financing strategies are taking shape. Mark Brown reports from Johannesburg.

The procedure is an important step towards the cash settlement of the entire CDS market.

Citigroup to take on $11 billion of risk in a single package.