Political unrest damaging Lebanese economy; Banks’ regional growth strategies revised

Glencore IPO

Finance minister claims country deserves status; Ratings agencies say Uruguay vulnerable to external shocks

Regulation dampens appeal of operating subsidiaries; Capital requirement changes put lid on M&A

Vietnam’s stock markets are experiencing wrenching volatility as market rumours, inflation-curbing rate increases and a lack of positive economic data take their toll. On May 18 the Ho Chi Minh City exchange’s VNIndex dropped 2.03% to 454.91 points, the most it had in a single day since mid-March. Since then markets have continued to be volatile, with several consecutive days in May in which over half of the stocks in the market were at or near the limits of their trading bands (after which trading is suspended). Several factors are contributing to the unusual amount of volatility.

On April 29 the US Treasury proposed exempting foreign exchange forwards and swaps from clearing and trading rules contained in the Dodd-Frank Act. The Global FX Division, a trade group representing the biggest users of foreign exchange, mainly banks, said at the time. "We very much welcome the US Treasury ‘proposed determination’, as moving FX swaps and forwards to centralized clearing will not only create additional costs for business users, but could also increase systemic risk." However, one influential financial market academic argues that the proposal to exempt FX might be a mistake, and could indeed foster systemic risk.

Rothschild, Moelis see more business; Foreign firms say US IBs too ‘fast and loose’

Number of banks hired on Asia deals rising; Practice hurts both sides, sources say

Is investor generosity towards Dubai justified?

The primary debt markets in Europe seem to have come to terms with the threat of a peripheral sovereign debt restructuring. But proposed regulation that will require bondholders to be bailed in when banks fail might be the last straw for some buyers in the FIG market. Louise Bowman reports.

Custodian banks under fire for overcharging; Scandal spurs interest in transaction cost analysis

Local banks attractive thanks to cash rewards; International firms constrained by regulations

Kazakh-Chinese trade/investment on the rise; More Hong Kong equity issuance likely

Three months before the start of the credit crunch in 2007 this column predicted that the IPO of Blackstone Group marked the “endgame for private equity”. With Glencore listing in London there might be good reasons to call time on the commodities bubble.

Purisima says more local funding to come; Republic targets investment-grade rating

Order disputed in court; Capital hierarchy disrupted

Case highlights the often dysfunctional relationship between Hong Kong’s issuers, investors, exchanges and regulators, and how urgently reform is required.

Pilot-fishing no longer works; More bookrunners hamper consensus

Plenty of schemes are being floated for how Greece might secure relief from an unsustainable debt approaching 165% of GDP and likely, before long, to require an annual interest payment equivalent to 10% of GDP, mainly to foreign creditors. Costas Meghir, professor of economics at University College London, described this as an “annual blood-letting”, in a debate at the LSE last month with Herakles Polemarchakis, an economic adviser to the prime minister of Greece, and Nicos Christodoulakis, former Greek minister of finance and economy.

Read Euromoney's coverage of the

EU debt markets:
Will the bank bail-in make bond investors bail out?
High-yield dominates corporate market

CEE debt markets:
Debt markets embrace CEE borrowers
Gazprom proves CEE investors’ favourite

Latin American debt markets:
Latin America bond markets set new landmarks
Brazil still top LatAm sovereign but supply likely to dry up
Brazil's IFRS reform aids Energesia perpetual hybrid

North American debt markets:
Record high-yield issuance drives US debt boom
US policy pushes investors to rethink

Best borrowers:
EIB's focus on investor relations pays off
Spanish Treasury reports shift in investor attitudes
A triumph for transparency

Also: View results from the Primary debt survey and the Fixed income investors survey, incorporating Fixed income research and Best borrowers.