Fund management

Hugh McColl is a hard act to follow. He was, after all, the man who turned a small south-east regional bank into one of the world's largest financial institutions. And he had a reputation for toughness. A former marine, he kept a grenade on his desk and would give it to any employee that had disappointed him.

Forex trading platform Atriax was backed by some of the biggest-hitting banks. Its failure marks it out as yet another example of how bad technology and poor management can ruin a good idea.

Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis is aiming for a goal that no-one has yet achieved. He wants to be the first chief executive of a commercial bank to build a successful, sizeable and sustainable US investment-banking franchise. Plenty have tried - some are still trying - but whether domestic players or European banks they have in the end all had to make one of three choices: to buy, sell, or give up.

Russia

Nearly six months ago, the MTS bond markets were offered a shortlist of clearing houses. It should be a simple choice between the London Clearing House and Clearnet but the process is dragging on. The cause of this delay may be that Gianluca Garbi, CEO of EuroMTS, is trying to force decisions in Clearnet’s favour.

Consolidation, including the transformation of regional banks from competitors of the biggest forex banks to their customers, is moving on apace. Only the biggest dealers are in a position to offer the wide range of interlinked services demanded by their largest customers and to invest in winning technology.

Cantor Fitzgerald’s prescience in buying up financial e-commerce patents could boost its earnings as it rebuilds after its tragic September 11 staff losses. Its claims, though, have not gone unchallenged and sympathy for the firm might wane as litigation proliferates.

Russia