Hindsight is a wonderful thing. But according to analysis by Riskdata, investors would have been able to predict funds that would lose money back in June last year had they used the right models.

Most US hedge fund managers are pessimistic about the US economy this year, according to a survey by Kinetic Partners.

Malayan Bank, Malaysia’s biggest lender, has acquired 15% of Pakistan’s MCB Bank, Pakistan’s fourth-largest bank by asset value. This is the Malaysian bank’s third acquisition in Asia in two months and the largest banking acquisition in Pakistan.

US listed asset management firm BlackRock has embarked on a renewed drive into Latin America.

Capital International Private Equity Fund V (CIPEF V) has closed with funds totalling $2.25 billion.

Star performers are not motivated solely by the chance to earn yet more, as the pending departure of Greg Coffey from GLG to start his own business shows. Neil Wilson reports.

Reaz Islam, head of Citi’s Falcon Strategies hedge funds, is leaving the bank.

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CLS has added the Israeli shekel and Mexican peso to the 15 currencies it settles. "Bringing the benefits of CLS settlement to an ever wider community of stakeholders is central to our strategy of growing the value of CLS to the market. The local banking systems in Israel and Mexico will also experience the risk and efficiency benefits that CLS participation will bring, and we are very pleased to welcome these two new currencies to the CLS community," says Rob Close, chief executive of CLS Group.

The Middle East and north Africa will be the top-performing regions in 2008, according to a survey of 1,000 investors by Deutsche Bank.

After a year that has been ruthless in its revelation of sub-par debt services, the Euromoney debt poll reveals which banks have managed to survive the credit crunch with their reputations, and their client bases, still intact.

Korea’s new government, led by president Lee Myung-bak, is committed to free market economics and business-friendly policies, according to the country’s top economic policymaker.

Mining company’s CEO hopes credit crunch won’t dent IPO and funding for expansion projects.

The usually laborious task of bringing a new exchange traded fund product to market in the US looks set to become a thing of the past once new SEC rules come into play.

Standard Chartered and the International Finance Corporation have joined forces to launch the first-ever issuance of credit-linked notes backed by loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

It is not that long ago that Barclays Capital dismissed the possibility that it would cater directly for retail foreign exchange business.

Japan’s top companies are increasing dividend payments to shareholders and buying back stock in record amounts, according to new research from Nikko Asset Management.

Hope to improve prices and minimize fees and impact on market.

Initial public offerings were just gaining momentum when turmoil stopped the market in its tracks. Jethro Wookey asks if the largest IPO in western Europe this year can get the wheels moving again?

Oi Participações, the Brazilian telecoms group formerly known as Telemar, is to buy local telecoms rival Brasil Telecom for R$5.86 billion ($3.5 billion). The merger will create the leading telecoms operator in Brazil, with 70% of Brazil’s fixed-line market. The deal awaits changes in the regulatory framework, which does not allow a single group to hold two separate telecoms concessions. Rothschild, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse advised Telemar. Brasil Telecom did not employ any investment banks.

Blackstone Group has hired Kemal Kaya as a senior adviser for its Turkish operations.

Fortress’s first-quarter earnings sparked some concern among market participants but chief executive and chairman Wesley Edens says the worst is now over.

It doesn’t take much to bring out the eccentricity of the English. And a ban on drinking alcohol on London’s underground system achieved just that, as thousands of revellers gathered on trains and at tube stations in late May to mark the last day that it was legal to have a tipple 50 feet under London’s streets.

Kuwait Projects Company (Kipco) has decided to reorganize its financial services holdings.

It seems that life at the UK Treasury is far more relaxing since the credit crunch hit last summer. According to figures released by the Treasury, staff took in total an average of 166 days off a month because of stress-related illnesses in the first half of 2007, while in the second half of the year the figure was 106 days.

Despite conflicting views on the state of the economy and uncertainty caused by political unrest, banks are riding high on mortgage lending and consumer loans. There is still huge untapped potential for credit cards. High interest rates remain the fly in the ointment, however. Julian Marshall reports.

Slovakia’s now near-certain entry into the eurozone in January 2009 should help bolster the country’s credit ratings and improve investor sentiment towards the country, say bankers.

HBOS deserves the gratitude of its rivals for its attempt at a UK RMBS benchmark, but it may prove futile in the short term.

Asian investment banking thrives despite woes in Europe and the US.