If a UK tabloid is to be believed, Coutts is about to offer Prince William (pictured, left) more than just a bank account. William ? second in line to the throne ? is considering a career with Coutts when he graduates from St Andrews University, according to the Sunday Mirror.

A $5 billion loan is not to be dismissed lightly in a country where foreign investment is running at just $1 billion a year. But the mystery benefactor is a company whose name rings no bells and whose principal investors have yet to be identified. It could only happen in Turkey. Metin Munir reports.

Regulation, historical rivalries, investor scepticism, language barriers and egos all stand in the way of large bank mergers in western Europe, where consolidation stalled at the end of the 1990s. Unless these obstacles can be overcome, leading European banks will be swallowed by US financial institutions just as soon as they have finished digesting their domestic acquisitions. Katie Martin reports.

When John Mack (pictured right) was brought in as CEO to turn around Credit Suisse First Boston more than three years ago, he offered a simple diagnosis. "We don't have a revenue problem, we have a cost problem," he said. That might have been so then. But in trying to cut costs, has the former Morgan Stanley CEO created a revenue problem that wasn't there before?

Managing director, MYM Capital

In December, GM outlined a revised strategy designed to deliver at least a 9% return at its pension plans, including increased allocation to such asset classes as emerging-market debt, high-yield bonds and real estate while reducing global equity allocation to less than 50%. Some commentators feel that investing in more exotic asset classes and using hedge fund managers with the aim of reducing volatility is slightly odd. But GM treasurer Walter Borst insists that investing in additional asset classes will add to diversification and so reduce volatility on a portfolio basis. "We can do this because we have such large assets under management and expertise in house," he says. "Some people have said that by investing in some of these asset classes we must be adding risk. Well, some of the items might be more or less risky, but we like to think we're a little more sophisticated than that."

Although mergers of large banks are relatively rare in Europe, it's a different story in private banking. M&A activity, including many small and medium-size transactions, is on the increase across the sector. Helen Avery reports.

Reform is on the agenda for Morocco, although the king still wields comprehensive power. New openings are being sought to rebalance an economy dependent on tourism and to overcome stubbornly high unemployment. Rupert Wright reports.

Quality borrowers got away a lot of issues last month, but investors are getting more choosy, especially about dollar bonds. Rising interest rates and an equity revival also raise uncertainties about the year to come. Mark Brown reports.

Elliott Associates' founder Paul Singer learnt the hard way that good investment returns can only be achieved consistently if hedging is rigorously applied and opportunities to add value ruthlessly pursued. Felix Salmon reports.

War, epidemics and political uncertainty dominated the financial landscape in 2003, interrupting roadshows, delaying deals and making it difficult to predict market movements. Some issuers pulled their deals. But others found ways to meet new types of investor demand. Volatile equity markets sparked unusual convertibles. Warmer sentiment towards Russia produced a whole range of deals. Hostile takeovers returned. And high-yield bonds and LBOs enjoyed a resurgence. Antony Currie, Julian Evans, Deborah Kimbell, Chris Leahy and Katie Martin report.

Dragged down by Argentina's troubles, Uruguay was on its knees by mid-2002. Yet in 2003, through a series of elegant and smoothly executed transactions, the country regained its economic stability and much of its historical reputation as a sound credit. Felix Salmon reports.

A top-notch pension scheme and subsidized healthcare ensure employees love working for General Motors. But the costs place a huge strain on the finances of one of the world's biggest bond issuers. Smart financial engineering has eased investors' fears over these liabilities. But GM must now address weak profitability in the car business. Its financing arm can't bail it out for ever. Kathryn Tully reports.