A rights issue boom means investment banks have bizarrely profited from their failures.

A commodity boom masks fundamental problems in the Brazilian economy, observers argue.

Revelations on Moody’s mis-rating of CPDOs could be the most damaging yet.

While some continue to debate whether the knife is still falling, others have decided that the distressed credit markets already offer an attractive investment opportunity.

When BlackRock announced in May that it would be buying $15 billion of UBS’s sub-prime mortgages, for some market participants it signalled the bottom of the mortgage-backed securities market. But house prices are still falling. Is US real estate still too risky? Helen Avery goes doorstepping.

Following the retirement of John Fleming at Credit Suisse and ABN Amro’s Paul White, another longstanding debt syndicate head has left his role. Lorenzo Frontini, who ran European debt syndicate at Lehman Brothers for four years has moved to origination within the bank’s global finance division. Frontini is a Lehman veteran with 11 years experience, and now will run coverage for Italian financial institutions. He reports to European co-heads of global finance Philippe Dufournier and Richard Atterbury and geographically to Riccardo Banchettti, CEO of Italy.

The Angolan government wants foreign companies to divest part of their stakes in their subsidiaries to the country’s wealthiest companies as part of its strategy to localize key assets.

Rasmala was created by one man: Ali Al Shihabi. The firm and its founder encapsulate the cultural fusion for which their home, Dubai, is famed. Dominic O’Neill profiles a company that specializes in the world’s fastest-growing financial market.

If you don’t know what to buy friends who invested in Bear Stearns to cheer them up, look no further than eBay. For just $17.99 the bidding website is offering a T-shirt with the slogan: "I invested my life savings with Bear Stearns and all I have left is this lousy t-shirt." The item had received no bids by time we went to press but other interesting Bear Stearns memorabilia was faring better. Among the 24 Bear Stearns-related items up for grabs on the website is a Bear Stearns hard hat, a Bear Stearns aviator Teddy Bear, and a sealed deck of cards issued to Bear Stearns employees to mark the 50th anniversary of Ace Greenberg’s joining the firm.

"There are no second acts in American lives," wrote F Scott Fitzgerald towards the end of his own monochrome career. He can’t have been talking about Wall Street: as anyone who has tracked the career of John Meriwether will know, third, fourth and fifth acts are perfectly possible. Perhaps more careers have taken a dramatic turn in the present crisis than was the case when the hedge fund LTCM failed; for those seeking an uplifting plot twist, a stage name might come in handy. Euromoney has noticed that merely shuffling the letters in the names of some victims of the credit crisis produces plausible pseudonyms, and respectfully presents the stars of tomorrow: Enterprising readers might wish to suggest their own anagrams: Euromoney confesses to being stumped by Jonathan Chenevix-Trench, former COO of Morgan Stanley’s institutional securities business.

The London Stock Exchange is launching a service to provide research coverage for the small-cap stocks listed on its main market and on junior market AIM.

High-ticket foreign purchases by Tata Steel and Hindalco have grabbed the headlines but India’s SMEs are also increasingly acquisitive. Cash-rich, or funded by enthusiastic local banks or foreign investors, they are taking advantage of turmoil in the US. Elliot Wilson reports.

Much of the focus on the credit crunch has been on the biggest financial intermediaries, but fixed-income investors were also shaken. Alex Chambers finds out what the biggest players think are their opportunities and challenges.

Why has idiosyncratic Idzik exited? In early May, it seeped out that Paul Idzik, Barclays’ chief operating officer, had decided to leave the UK bank. And for a while, all anyone wanted to discuss was the Idzik exodus.

Euromoney: What was the reasoning behind the latest reorganization?

"I don’t think it’s a Great Depression, I don’t think it’s Armageddon but I think that it’s purely wishful thinking for people to be forecasting a sharp V-shaped recovery in the second half of the year"

The market has discovered that it’s not just about platform technology.

The billionaire investor is one of the world’s most successful buyers of distressed assets. He talks to Sudip Roy in New York about value destruction, a Middle East partnership and his strategy for the future.

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?

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.

The commodity price boom masks fundamental questions about the value of commodity investments in a portfolio, the choice of commodities and the most constructive use of indices. Euromoney’s debate panel grapples with the crucial issues.

Many voices have called an end to structured credit. And yet, amid the continued retrenchment and fallout from several years of excessive activity, there are signs that this structuring technique is far from dead: its proponents are merely reshaping the technology. Alex Chambers reports.

These are happy days for mezzanine lenders. Having been excluded from the LBO boom of recent years they are now the first port of call for sponsors in the brave new world of leveraged finance. But how long will the mini-boom last? Louise Bowman reports.

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

When a medical doctor with close ties to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was appointed as minister of finance many were surprised. Surapong Suebwonglee has worked hard to woo Thai people and foreign investors with tax cuts, capital markets reforms and a focus on growth. Lawrence White met him on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank meeting.

Best Borrowers 2008: Bank of America