Apart from some well-publicized swap operations that may have turned sour, Belgium's treasury has reduced the kingdom's cost of borrowing dramatically. But, as Charles Piggott reports, potential losses on contracts signed in the early 1990s have raised important questions for all sovereigns trying to balance market confidentiality with public accountability.

Dresdner Bank's roving diplomat Hansgeorg Hofmann struggled for 18 months to keep Kleinwort Benson intact after its takeover by Dresdner. But rival board members in Frankfurt were forcing a tortuous management structure on fledgling investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. That led Kleinwort's long-standing chairman Simon Robertson to quit in February. Now the gloves are off, and Dresdner's board, including Hofmann, have turned authoritarian. Expect some bloodshed. By Laura Covill.

What's the story with William Watt, the head of niche bond specialist PaineWebber International who is still considered by some to have been "the best floating-rate note trader in the history of the market"? On April 18 there was a terse newsflash saying that Michael O'Hanlon, chief economist and head of research at the firm, was being made head of all fixed income.

Yann Gindre became an instant celebrity last summer - but not for reasons entirely of his own choosing. When most high-rolling Euromarketeers were lying on tropical beaches or on their private yachts, Gindre became the centre of a tug-of-war, as senior executives at BZW in London jockeyed for position following the arrival of Robert Diamond from Credit Suisse First Boston as BZW's new fixed-income supremo.

Even in the age-conscious Euromarket where the best and the brightest, like policemen, seem to get younger, Bill Winters is a classic example of a fast-track career. Still only 35, he runs all of JP Morgan's fixed-income activities in Europe. Given Morgan's surge in primary underwriting and inherent strengths in swaps and derivatives, this makes him one of the most important individuals in the Euromarket. "Bill Winters' position is not dissimilar to Jimmy Forese at Salomon Brothers in London but Bill carries the Morgan calling card which gives him a definite advantage," comments a former Salomon managing director.

The world is all perversity. The worst that could happen to investors is stronger global growth, producing weak financial markets. That will happen if Japan picks up this year at the same time as core Europe, and there is a continued boom in the US.

On February 28 NatWest Markets announced that it was suspending a trader after a £50 million loss on interest rate options. Two weeks later the bank suspended four more people, including two risk managers, and the hole had grown to £85 million. What went wrong? And what are the lessons for risk managers everywhere? By David Shirreff.

Are banks facing a rough ride on the information superhighway?

News of a planned merger between Bankers Trust and broker Alex Brown came in a rush. In fact, though, the firms had long recognized their complementarities and had first started talking about a link-up in 1993. Peter Lee reports.

When Alan Smith returned to work he took no chances. The former head of Jardine Fleming finished his six months of gardening leave on April 1. Not wanting to look a fool he started a week later.