Islamic banks have much potential to tap Islamic, ethical and conventional borrowers and investors. The key will be whether the industry can introduce the regulatory standards to reassure investors. Nigel Dudley reports.

The powers that be at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein are no doubt raising their eyebrows and saying: "I told you so."

President Putin asserts that the Yukos case was a one-off attack on illegality. It's clear, though, that a plan to put Russia's biggest companies more firmly under state control and to change the balance of the economy is under way. The president, not big business, will decide which way Russia goes. Ben Aris reports.

After a year of inactivity, banking reforms in Russia are moving again. The weak are being weeded out and with new regulations on mergers in the pipeline, consolidation of the country's 1,300 banks is imminent. Ben Aris reports.

Emerging-market investment bankers have been tramping the corridors of power in Kiev ever since Ukraine showed signs of shrugging off its economic torpor in 2000. Bond investors are now following. Nick Parsons reports.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's central bank governor is an unlikely Bosnian. He doesn't speak any of the country's three languages. He doesn't particularly identify with any of the three ethnic groups, or hold grudges against the other ones. Even his name, Peter Nicholl, is not typically Balkan. Yet a card-carrying Bosnian he is. As of 2002, Nicholl took Bosnian citizenship, to comply with a law decreeing that the central bank governor had to be a local. It was, he says, "an honour".

Veteran visitors to South Africa are always full of good ideas for things to do for those who are about to go for the first time.

Investment bankers are used to pitching for business in far-flung places. But even for such old pros as Deutsche Bank's Ken Borda and Jeremy Paul, the hill tribes of northern Thailand must have seemed an unlikely venue.

Europe's retail investors are about to be inundated with securities that claim to put them on a par with the most prized funds.

It is a common view, especially in the US, that continental Europe is shackled by big government and a lack of reform. The corollary is that its economy and its stock markets will underperform those of the US or the UK.

www.breakingviews.com

Most corporates are trying hard to improve credit ratings. But Coca-Cola's second biggest bottler, frustrated with its rating by Moody's after improving its ratios, is bucking the trend by increasing its debt regardless. Kathryn Tully reports.

Not long ago, any claim that Indian manufacturers could make acquisitions abroad would have been dismissed as wishful thinking. Cheap IT services and software development might some day make India a global player in the services industry but it had clearly missed the opportunity in manufacturing.

There are two types of banks – those that are good to work for and those that are good to own. Investment banks fall into the first category. They deliver huge financial rewards to their employees, who have succeeded through good times and bad in extracting extraordinarily high pay in return for risking shareholders' capital. If their bets pay off, they scoop a healthy chunk of the winnings. If they don't, bankers can lose only their jobs.

Deal: Cablecom's debt-for-equity swap

www.breakingviews.com

Peru and Mexico are being forecast as the next Latin American countries to open up to international fund managers. A report by research group Cerulli Associates claims the evolution of the pensions systems in the two countries points to a greater appetite for foreign equities, increasing the need for international managers.

www.breakingviews.com

A country still associated in many minds with a savage war is determined to put the past behind it, attract foreign investment and join the EU. It needs to move soon or it will be left behind by the rest of Europe. Julian Evans reports.

While bankers are going through hoops to sell structured financial products to retail investors, UK private investors can now buy one of the oldest and simplest commodities in the world – gold.

A free market for Russia's electricity is within sight as the break-up of the power sector bolts through the halfway mark. Ben Aris reports.

The EBRD has done such a good job in central and eastern Europe, opening up market access and catalyzing transformation of financial systems, that it now may no longer be needed. It must look once again to more troubled economies farther east to renew its mission. Julian Evans reports.

The Kazakh banking sector, which has leapt forward at a remarkable rate for the past four years under the strict supervision of the central bank, is about to get a new supervisor. What next for this success story? Chris Pala reports.

The new management fee structure adopted by Infiniti Capital is likely to ruffle a few feathers in the fund of funds industry. The Swiss investment house is launching a fund of funds, for wealthy individuals and institutional investors, on a zero entry fee basis.

UK banking group HBOS has received many plaudits for its innovative financing in 2003. Deals have included covered bonds, securitization programmes and retail-driven tier 1 capital deals. When you have had to fund £55 billion of asset growth in the past 12 months alone, you are always going to be on the look-out for new funding methods. "In 2003 we had to fund this growth and lengthen wholesale maturities, but we didn't want to over issue in any sector," said HBOS head of funding and liquidity Tony Main at a Credit Suisse First Boston credit conference held in December.

If you are accustomed to the light and space of the trading floor, sitting on orthopaedically sensitive office furniture in front of ergonomically designed keyboards, spare a thought for your counterparts in private banking.

We're familiar with the concept of broadsheet newspapers producing tabloid editions, but credit research reports masquerading as novels? In an effort to sex up credit analysis, Barclays Capital's European 2004 outlook is a 628-page book with a lurid cover design more reminiscent of Douglas Coupland or Stephen King than Gary Jenkins, who heads global credit research at the bank.

So far, the three western banks active in Kazakhstan have been a success. In order of appearance, ABN Amro, Citigroup and HSBC have turned tidy profits from lending at low rates to top state and corporate institutions. They now hold about 6.5% of the country's banking assets. Is it time to expand into retail?

Strong growth, a successful sovereign bond deal and undervalued assets are turning Ukraine into the hottest new investment opportunity. Nick Parsons reports.

Asia's high-net-worth individuals are getting richer quicker than those anywhere else. Wealth management has never been so competitive in the region but is a potential goldmine for the smartest bankers. Chris Leahy reports.