Technological developments in multilateral trading facilities look set to be much more significant than link-ups between private monopoly exchanges.

The back office is the unglamorous end of the deal chain. But as some banks are now finding out, keeping the pipes clear is vital if business is to be kept flowing from the front end. Lee Oliver reports.

The wilder shores of technical analysis never want for proponents and followers. So are there perhaps truths to be found in all this numerology? Or is it just a load of bloody offal?

Several private equity firms are poised to launch new debt management businesses as the European CLO market goes into overdrive.

As readers of September’s 408-page issue will appreciate, Euromoney seldom finds itself lost for words.

Washington Mutual has broken new ground in several areas during the past year. Not least as the first American issuer of a covered bond. However, it made a substantial impact with its hybrid issuance too. WaMu’s treasurer, Robert Williams, explains his bank’s financing strategy to Alex Chambers.

The privatization of Japan Post means that a huge store of capital will be unleashed into the private sector. Lawrence White travelled to Tokyo to find out what progress has been made, and to assess the likely effects of this historic IPO on the global capital markets.

End investors and hedge fund managers are increasingly concerned about those funds of funds that take a hot money view, rapidly switching cash in and out of hedge funds. Some of the horror stories risk tainting the entire industry. Helen Avery reports.

ICBC listing might set a new record but investors should tread with caution.

CHAMPAGNE CORKS WERE popping in Lisbon to herald the smooth passage of Portugal’s covered bond legislation. So Europe has yet another covered bond market, news that will have been greeted with a certain amount of resignation in Italy by both banks and regulators. It all looks so easy, but somehow Italy has made it look very, very difficult.

Created in 1961 to supplement the pensions of military personnel, Turkish pension fund Oyak has traditionally delivered returns by holding majority stakes in Turkish companies. Profiting from the economy’s strong growth rates, the addition of a fixed-income portfolio has enabled the fund to ride the volatility of the market. Florian Neuhof reports.

HSBC has transferred all of its UK mortgage assets into a single pool, which should cut costs for its new covered bond and RMBS programmes.

It’s somewhat ironic that Dresdner has an F1 car in the building. After all, motor racing is associated with glamour, sex appeal and life in the fast lane – all the things that Dresdner is not.

The hedge fund industry is now institutional. In the US, 5% of the groups run 65% of the money, while in Europe concentration is even greater. To keep up, prime brokers need multi-asset skills, cross-margining and the IT to match. Dog walking may not be available any longer.

Longer-term investments can antagonize investors with shorter-term views. Ritchie Capital looks to have found a way to defuse the conflict.

At the end of September Petrobras, the Brazilian state-owned oil and gas company, completed dollar and yen issues within days of each other – its first such deals in two years. CFO Almir Barbassa talks to Chloe Hayward about why the company has suddenly become so active again.