July 1999
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LATEST ARTICLES
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Scandinavian banks are falling over themselves to make acquisitions and take stakes in the Baltic states. What they get are brand-new, hi-tech banks with underdeveloped markets. The downside is that experienced local bankers are thin on the ground. The locals seem pleased enough by the invasion but some hint that more diversity of foreign involvement might offer a wider window on the world. Alex Mathias reports.
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Brazilian Central Bank: Why Fraga chose inflation targeting
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No bank in Poland, it seems, wants to marry the acquisition-hungry Bank Handlowy, and the Polish treasury hasn't helped as matchmaker. But the once-proud foreign trade giant desperately needs a source of retail deposits. It missed out on Bank Pekao, and the smaller Bank Zachodni. What scraps are left that the foreigners haven't eaten? Oonagh Leighton reports
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Czech Republic: The case of the lost decade
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Issuer: Princess Private Equity Holding
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Czech Republic: The case of the lost decade
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The government's intervention to prop up the Hong Kong stock market last year was necessary, says finance minister Donald Tsang - to keep the elephants of international capital from treading on Hong Kong's small and delicate pond. Our poll finds that most of Hong Kong's financial leaders agree. Tsang speaks to Steven Irvine about who was to blame for the speculative attacks, how the state holding will be unwound and the impact of mainland Chinese equities on the island's market.
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Czech Republic: The case of the lost decade
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Now that Russia has given up its ridiculous ambition to become an advanced capitalist nation in the space of a historical nano-second, Russians can revert to their favourite pursuits: relieving their anguish with sardonic humour and suspecting that their plight is the result of a grand conspiracy.
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Trouble at t'windmill?
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Ghana is trying to prove it can combine democracy with economic stability. When military rule ended, inflation control and public finances fell apart. Since 1997 the situation has improved. Against this volatile background, banks have to adapt continually. Can Ghana graduate away from World Bank tutelage, and even be accepted into international capital markets? James Rutter reports.
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For over a decade after 1987, when it first topped the US bond league tables, Merrill Lynch enjoyed unfettered growth, profitability and renown as the world's premier securities firm. Its mix of retail distribution, dependable income and worldwide expansion became the model for big investment banks to aspire to. Then, last year, things started to go wrong. Merrill's bond traders made huge losses, acquisitions in Japan and Canada produced sorry results, US asset managers put in a weak performance and clients defected from Mercury Asset Management. Most worrying, internet stock traders began to encroach on Merrill's retail business. For the past few months, the firm has licked its wounds, fended off merger rumours, and laid new plans. Now it's coming out fighting. Antony Currie reports. -
Asset-backed Finance: Europe takes to securitization
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Foreign investors are buying large amounts of US agency debt as a substitute for treasuries. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both publicly listed companies, are expanding their balance sheets and pushing into new markets. But they are not treasury lookalikes. The implications should concentrate the minds of investors. James Smalhout reports.
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He has been the prince regent of international finance, the central banker in waiting. But Rafael Buenaventura has finally taken on the mantle of Philippines central bank governor more than a year after his old school mate, President Estrada, let it be known that Buenaventura would be the man.
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Chicago exchanges: The education of David Brennan
