KfW's platform to securitize portfolios of loans to SMEs in Germany has broadened opportunities for the banks involved. It is far from clear, though, that these lenders have taken the steps needed to enhance margins on this business. Katie Martin reports.

With just over a year left before they lose the state guarantees that they rely upon for cheap financing, several German Landesbanken still do not have a clear strategy. Investors have reacted by rewarding those that have communicated a strong business plan. Katie Martin reports.

Central bank and government profligacy in the west and Japan looks set to buoy up the gold price for some time to come.

Goldman Sachs is struggling to reassure other brokers that they have nothing to fear from its plans to turn proprietary platform RediPlus into a multi-broker trading system. Rivals see contradictions, a grab for profits, and a desire to dominate equities trading. Antony Currie reports.

The US extendible MTN market has seen a raft of longer-dated deals of late, tapping investor demand for two- and three-year debt which is not naturally filled by money market instruments or traditional term bond issuance. The standard extendible MTN product is a floating rate note with an initial maturity of 13 months, which investors can elect to extend out to a maximum of five years, with a pre-set pricing step-up every year. These are specifically targeted at money market funds as a higher yielding product, which allow investors to exploit the relative steepness of an issuer's credit curve and still meet 2a7 eligibility requirements.

The US spends and the rest of the world lends. But the US is spending too much, and if Asian central banks don't keep lending, this year could bring unprecedented risk for bond investors. That was the message from Laura D'Andrea Tyson, former chairman of US president Bill Clinton's Council of Economic Advisors, in her keynote address to the 10th Euromoney Bond Investors Congress in London on February 24.

Country risk index: The strong currency is damaging economic performance in the eurozone. But the outlook for some emerging markets is brighter, thanks to rising commodity prices and improving prospects for Asia. Paul Pedzinski and Andrew Newby report.

Head of sports, media and professional client groups, Coutts

It is just past midnight at The Morning Night Bar a few doors down from Bangkok's notorious Nana Entertainment Plaza and the party is in full swing. Loud rock music belts from speakers, clouds of cigarette smoke hug the pool tables and groups of inebriated western men clutch younger-looking Thai consorts as the Singha beer flows and the good times roll.

Source: www.breakingviews.comis Europe's leading financial commentary service Eric Daniels , the chief executive of Lloyds TSB, has passed over the opportunity to give the UK bank a radical change of direction. Not only that – he has forced out the one board member who was gunning for change, former finance director Philip Hampton.

Forex scandals are rare, considering the size of the business. But when they happen, they tend to be dramatic. Demands for tighter controls are growing. But even without a clear and unified regulatory framework, a fear of reputational and financial risk ensures that banks take the issue seriously. Deborah Kimbell reports.

The Dutch B2B group pulls off a large restructuring to survive a liquidity crunch amid heavy trading of its debt by US hedge funds.

Through his creation, 21i.net, entrepreneur Fritz Kaiser is hoping to bring together the leading wealth management service providers in the world as a type of one-stop shop. His path towards a wealth management utopia, however, is not as smooth as had been foreseen. Helen Avery reports.

Cynics may regard the new prime minister of Malaysia's dramatic moves against corruption and overblown projects as little more than electioneering. But many in the financial community see the actions as a welcome and necessary change of tack for the country. Peter Koh reports.

Banks and lawyers in the US face confusion over the tests used to determine their liability on securities fraud.

The world's largest steel company's M&A team is as big as an investment bank's steel sector corporate finance division. Arcelor reckons, though, that its team's superior sector knowledge makes it more effective at doing deals that enhance core assets, deliver synergies and boost shareholder value. Kathryn Tully reports.

Amid the roll-out of China's vast privatization programme international attention is focused on the transfers of big state-owned enterprises. But the ownership of thousands of other smaller operations is being changed via hundreds of small, local asset exchanges. Regulation of these is being beefed up. Chris Leahy reports.

Under Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand has chosen a distinctive path to prosperity. Some hail its success as a blueprint for the region; others warn of an inflationary bubble. There are also hint of shifts in the Thai political and social fabric that could transform not just Thailand but the whole region's geopolitics. Chris Leahy reports.

RediPlus didn't get much of a mention at the time of the acquisition of Spear Leeds Kellogg by Goldman Sachs. Most of the focus was either on the price, initially $6.5 billion, or on what seemed to be an about-face by the investment bank. SLK was best known as a specialist, the market maker on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Goldman had been a prolific investors in its nemesis, the electronic trading platforms, and seemed to regard the specialist model as unsustainable.

Hedge fund Phylon's launch was ill-timed, but its partners' application of emerging market experience to European equities has impressed investors. Julie Dalla-Costa reports.