Privatization a “great opportunity”; Credit demand remains weak

The art of conversation may not be dead quite yet, but its demise will be hastened further if one recent VC investment bears fruit. Boston-based US start-up Kensho has raised $10 million from a group of seed investors including Google Ventures in order to develop an "intelligent virtual market research assistant" for capital markets trading floors.

Lenders struggle with bad debts; Private banks form a niche

First global bank with onshore presence; Follows new oil payments legislation

New funds to track both A50 and CSI300 indices; Ucits compliance opens funds to European buyers

A more optimistic picture of the eurozone economy is clouded by deflationary pressures, which are especially perilous in Greece. There is no easy fix, but a cheaper euro would help.

Central and eastern Europe is attractive for private equity houses. But they need to get their priorities right.

Deal attracts 400 bids; deficit remains a concern.

Vital energy reforms could provide a welcome fiscal boost.

London and Luxembourg are at loggerheads to become Europe’s leading offshore renminbi hub – although they wouldn’t let you know it.

Basel revisions dilute a key safeguard; bankers are celebrating.

The markets didn’t quite ignore the rushed news of Deutsche Bank’s fourth-quarter 2013 €1.2 billion loss stemming from litigation charges, restructuring costs and weak performance in its fixed-income business. Sure, the shares fell 6.5%, but this came after a more than 20% rally from the middle of 2013. Investors might have contented themselves that, after stripping out all the accounting nonsense and the litigation one-offs, the underlying performance wasn’t too bad.

Surveys suggest that virtual currencies look a safer bet than local stocks and property.

Pool of large unrated firms set to grow; Uphill battle to establish market share

Crédit Agricole attracts 900 orders; when everyone is buying, aficionados suggest time to sell.

Big reorganization at StanChart; Bank may be takeover target

African countries’ ability to access diversified funding is becoming more important. Deepening the local-currency bond markets is essential, but is the price worth paying? And are development organizations doing enough?

Georgia’s youthful finance minister, Nodar Khaduri, is committed to an open, business-friendly economy and hopes to revive foreign direct investment. A pro-western, EU-focused approach is also a central policy plank.

Limited supply boosts demand; concerns over provisions remain.

The new chief executive of Bank of Cyprus faces challenges on a scale that perhaps dwarf those he faced when restructuring the investment bank at RBS. Compelled to deal promptly with mounting bad debts, he also has to cope with the local reputational aftermath of the bank’s EU-imposed bail-in. Will his diet of “hard work and heavy lifting” see the bank through its crisis?

Hybrid investors are getting burned as the legacy of Moody’s change in methodology starts to hit home.