The long-awaited privatization of Svyazinvest, Russia’s national fixed-line telecoms operator, could finally get under way within the next two months.

After weeks of confusion, Turkey’s central bank has a new governor. Analysts hope he will preserve the largely successful policies of the outgoing chairman. Durmus Yilmaz has been appointed to replace Sureyya Serdengecti, who retired on March 14 after five years in charge. The appointment follows weeks of uncertainty after staunchly secularist president Ahmet Necdet Sezer turned down the AKP government’s initial suggestion of Adnan Buyukdeniz, chief executive of Albaraka Turk, an Islamic bank.

Bank of Alexandria privatization process started.

BMA chief confident about region’s fundamentals.

More than a few doubts have been raised about the rumoured plans of state lender China Construction Bank to buy a major stake in US investment bank Bear Stearns. However, sources in the firm’s Asian head office believe the plans are serious. “I haven’t seen a lot of guys with white socks walking around the office yet,” says a senior employee, “but there’s definitely truth to the rumour. It’s typical Bear strategy: late to the party, perhaps, but a smart call.”

Fitch Ratings has downgraded its rating for the Islamic Republic of Iran from BB– to B+, to take account of what it calls the “escalating confrontation between Iran and the international community over Iran’s nuclear programme.” Although it contends that material sanctions are still some way off, it argues that the risk is increasing and events “are becoming increasingly unpredictable”. The agency acknowledges, though, that with high oil prices Iran’s external financial position remains strong.

Central bank to change tier 1 regulation in two months.

Equity derivatives dealers have set up an industry group to improve trading efficiency and iron out operational issues in their market.

Recent figures from Reuters’ Loan Pricing Corporation show that borrowers have it better in the US now than ever before. Strong growth in the M&A market meant that syndicated loan issuance in the US reached the highest volume on record in the first quarter of the year.

“I tried really hard not to use the words ‘dead cat bounce’ when we met.”

Germany’s True Sale Initiative received some much-needed publicity last month when the first CLO to be structured under the programme emerged from Dresdner Bank.

The New York Stock Exchange needs to have its hybrid system ready before Reg NMS takes effect but it has only just completed Phase I. It might not have too much to worry about, though, as many other market participants are unprepared and a delay is widely expected.

Having been fined £6,363,643 in April by UK regulator the Financial Services Authority for failing to observe proper standards of market conduct and failing to conduct its business with due skill, care and diligence, Deutsche Bank must be keen to promote a spotless reputation in all aspects of its business.

Is there enough room for both sorts of hybrid in the European acquisition finance market?

Few companies are pursuing leveraged share buybacks, but pressure from activist investors is putting the issue back on the agenda and there could be a lot more deals in the next 12 months.

“Debt providers are becoming more selective about the opportunities they are willing to support and are now concentrating on companies with good forward earnings visibility”- James Stewart, ECI

More challenging asset classes will require a different approach to Italian public sector risk.

When Gloria Estefan released her 1987 chart topper “Rhythm is gonna get you”, she was on to something. Nearly 20 years later she still has the crowd dancing in the aisles, or “partying on out” as she put it – even when that crowd is attending a swanky mid-week benefit dinner on Wall Street.

10,000,000,000 the minimum amount in dollars that Russian IPOs, excluding Rosneft, are expected to raise this year, according to bankers. The Russian government hopes to raise as much as $15 billion from a London IPO of Rosneft this year.

Uses of securitization to fund US buyouts is getting ever more innovative.

Vietnam’s first flirtation with western fund management ended in an embarrassing exit for all but the die-hard few. Now that money is queuing to get in again, those who stuck it out through the downturn advise caution. Chris Leahy reports.

Looks to have got bargain with its $775 million purchase of spot broker.

The enormous growth potential of the Turkish banking sector is attracting a lot of attention but the mortgage business, one of the industry’s biggest attractions, is suffering from profit shortfalls because of a lack of well-matched funding opportunities. Covered bond issuance and the imminent reawakening of the Turkish lira corporate bond market could provide a much-needed boost. Peter Koh reports.

State Bank of India has decided to enter India’s rapidly growing market for securitized assets.

The capital markets are something of an open goal for debt issuers at the moment – spreads are tight, and investors want to put their money to work.

News of the first RMBS transaction out of Saudi Arabia has focused attention on the potential for real estate-backed issuance from the region.

Will US issuers start to look at Europe’s institutional markets?

After a few years of dormancy, convertible bond issuance in emerging Europe and the Middle East is picking up again. A few innovative and highly structured deals have priced this year and bankers are confident of more transactions. Sudip Roy reports on factors driving the activity and the types of investors involved.

BNP Paribas has topped the investment grade section of the Euromoney credit research poll for the past three years but this success has not stood in the way of a shift to a new research model.

Hybrid structured products – cross-asset-class investments – are finally starting to make a significant impact with investors. Banks report increasing demand from those looking to trade several market views via a single instrument to instantly reap the benefits of portfolio diversification. But with increasing sales come new challenges, such as the pricing of correlation. How are hybrid structured product makers faring?