An inflexible and costly labour market is often blamed for the eurozone's poor economic performance. But in Germany at least, times are changing. In an appeal to pure free-market economics, two Germans have launched a recruitment website where jobs go to the lowest bidder.

"In 1994 banks held 70% of all loans. That's now dropped to 29%. Institutional investors now hold 64% of loans. That's not syndicated lending, it's capital markets. They need to change the name."

The US economy is in a fool's paradise – Europe and Japan are by no means doomed to lag behind it. But none of these rivals can afford to abandon free trade to cope with China's massive growth

Eight out of 10 investors say they have yet to use the heavily marketed trades

The US firm's business mix is making it more difficult to bring success in the primary markets

Argentina's bond exchange is finally done but the sovereign continues to face pressure from the World Bank

Like the mariners of ancient Greece lured to their deaths by the beguiling song of the Sirens, international banks increasingly appear mesmerized by the call to invest in China's state-owned banking system.

"Alan Greenspan is positively giddy about the beneficial effects of credit derivatives," said Frank Partnoy at the Euromoney Global Borrowers Forum in London in June.

Telecoms sector misses out on $390 million investment

Governments swap to raise creditworthiness

Cash-rich investors are looking to put their money to work

What does it take for banks and investment banks to excel? Obviously they need customers, products, capital, technology, sound strategy, good people and leadership. That's tough enough to assemble, as is managing the balance between customer business and own-account trading. But the characteristic that bankers themselves talk about most as the one that distinguishes winning firms from the rest is even tougher to define and measure. It is culture.

May's credit market turmoil hit the profits of all four US brokers that reported second-quarter earnings last month, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley especially. There'll be more to come in July when the universal banks, and Merrill Lynch, report. JPMorgan has already warned that its trading results are the worst for some time. But the firm has at least had the chance to offset some of its problems with gains from June's more bullish credit trading environment.

Ameritrade stays independent and buys TD Waterhouse instead

Russia: Finance minister issues warning

Relations between president and prime minister deteriorate

CNOOC, China's state-controlled international oil company, launched the first contested bid by a Chinese company when it announced an all-cash offer for Unocal, a US oil and gas company with assets in Asia. CNOOC's offer values Unocal equity at $18.5 billion and outbids the recommended $17 billion shares-and-cash deal from US oil major Chevron. The Chinese company's move is expected by the market to lead to a protracted bidding war.

The German exchange aims to take on CME to tap the growing interest in FX as an asset class

Bank of America announced in June its intention of investing $3 billion for a 9% stake in China Construction Bank, China's second-biggest state lender, as part of a strategic move into the country. In a deal that took the market by surprise, Bank of America stated that it had entered into agreements with CCB to provide strategic assistance in relation to, inter alia, corporate governance, risk management, credit cards, consumer banking and treasury services. Bank of America is presumably salivating over the prospect of CCB's 136 million retail accounts and 14,500 branches.

Issuers are uncertain about the implications of the EU Prospectus Directive

Brokers are looking to counterbalance the effects of exchange consolidation

At the end of June, Kenneth Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, said that Chinese investment in the US should not be hampered. "I don't think it can be a one-way street," he argued.

Bankers report a material shift in confidence levels among investors

Venezuela's president has begun to put his anti-capitalist rhetoric into effect

Investors' willingness to accept shares in foreign-owned companies could lead to a boom in European activity

With a long history in the region, the most extensive network of any bank and a full suite of financial products, Citigroup is the biggest force in Asian banking. Yet it is still facing challenges. Chris Leahy spoke to Robert Morse, chief executive officer, corporate & investment banking, Citigroup Asia Pacific, about the bank's performance in Asia

GREs get a pick-up from rating change Government-related entities (GREs) got a substantial lift from Moody's Investors Service when the credit rating agency

Investors keen on domestic market exposure are to be catered for by a new index range

"This is the best year without a doubt. We are not in the charity business, right? We are doing this to make money and you can rest assured we are very successful in our business." -An unnamed banker making one of the more aggressive – and honest – pitches for a Euromoney Award for Excellence

Citigroup's vision of the ultimate financial company, manufacturing and selling every financial product, is lost. A series of scandals betrayed the fact that the structure Sanford Weill built had reached the limits of its manageability. Charles Prince now has a new plan to put the bank back on track. Will it work?