Standard & Poor’s met its late-April deadline for a response to a US Justice Department suit accusing the agency of fraudulently rating CDOs with an energetic rebuttal of the case for the prosecution.

Macro hedge funds back with a vengeance; return to trading on fundamentals.

FICC and DCM earning boost might not last; JPMorgan report says ROE growth will not come from investment banking.

Assertion that private funding is vital challenged but private skills might be essential.

Among several strange press releases received by Euromoney this month, one stood out. It posed the important question: “Can cocaine really be to blame for the recent financial crisis?” The release, put out by the soppily named Love PR, is a response to controversial Imperial College professor David Nutt’s recent assertion that cocaine use makes bankers “overconfident”, leading them to take greater and unnecessary risks. Now, we’re no experts, but anecdotal evidence suggests this is indeed the case.

Potential participants question current proposals; repo market could shrink by 66%.

Prompt for bank deposit and bond repricing... or a catalyst to accelerate bank harmonization efforts.

Value hard to find among corporates; financials likely to be hit by heavier regulation.

The central bank-driven global money-go-round has been turning ever faster since last summer. Now the Bank of Japan has turbo-charged it. So far, investors are enjoying the ride. But a bout of nausea cannot be ruled out.

Cyprus’s problems stem in part from doing business in Russia. But the Russian state’s attitude doesn’t make keeping money at home enticing.

Goldman displaces JPMorgan in Europe; Record underwriting revenues up 60%.

New fund to spread wealth locally; effort to boost local bourse.

Banks losing senior staff; IPO drought hits plans.

Stock market reaches all-time high; long-awaited Eurobond debut expected.

Economy recovering; high-quality companies in pipeline.

With concern growing over the credit risk embodied in many sovereign bonds, fixed-income investors need to think harder about how they assess risk.

In a July 2007 email exchange cited in the US government’s current case accusing Standard & Poor’s of defrauding investors with its CDO ratings, a recently hired analyst told an investment banking contact about the view among many employees that senior management at S&P had prevented downgrades to avoid alienating clients.

State seeks bailed-out bank sales; mooted deals get mixed reception.

Christopher Laskowski is a busy man. He was recently appointed head of corporate and investment banking for Citi in Hong Kong. In this role he will cover Hong Kong-based clients and the Hong Kong investment banking team will report to him. He will also continue to head the Asia-Pacific private equity advisory practice known as the Alternative Assets Group and be the chief operating officer of the corporate and investment bank for the region.

Strong international demand but investors might soon seek better pricing.

Koc, Arcelik tap dollar buyers; more deals in the pipeline.

Bleak economic outlook hampering activity; bank deleveraging main driver of supply.

BTS soars on opening day; regional pipeline strong.

Leverage up, covenant protection down; up to 15 new CLOs in Europe by year-end.

Euromoney can reveal that advisers to Sheikh Mansour were courting other strategic parties to invest in Barclays at a time when the bank was marketing the importance of the cornerstone Abu Dhabi investor, raising questions about market confidence and disclosure. The revelations also shed light on the frustrations of China Investment Corporation about the transaction and the fund’s approach to dealmaking.

Euromoney reveals how former British politician David Mellor, adviser to Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners, agitated for his cut of the Barclays fee, and the role of the former head of the CBI Digby Jones.

Speculation about Barclays’ capital raisings from Qatar and Abu Dhabi will only grow following Euromoney’s revelations. CEO Antony Jenkins should draw a line under the episode by revealing all.

Commerzbank issued a five-year €500 million covered bond backed by SME loans at the end of February – a landmark deal for the market given the atypical structure.

In the US, business development companies were created in 1980 as a form of publicly traded private equity. BDC funds are open to small investors and provide capital to start-up and venture capital-type opportunities.

Regulators hope they can transform the retail bond market into a regular source of funding for mid-caps - and the smaller firms.