HSBC's retail and corporate bank marketing has stressed its prowess as the world's local bank. However, the quest for a much enhanced global investment banking business demands a break from group tradition, one that redeployed and enhanced top management seems intent on implementing.

When John Studzinski, Studs to his friends, left Morgan Stanley after 23 years with the firm, a lot of people thought he would retire to devote time to his many other interests in and around London, such as his sponsorship of the arts, notably opera, and his support of the homeless. There are other interests too - he breeds pedigree dogs and spent the weekend before meeting Euromoney assisting with the delivery of eight male puppies.

The Russian private-equity market has had a great few months and many of the big houses are establishing funds. But are they prepared for russian condition, and are there enough deals out there to be done?

After 11 years at Mackay Shields, Steven Tananbaum concluded that there was room for a new player in the limited field of top-quality high-yield asset management. The result was Golden Tree Asset Management.

Serbian debt is undergoing something of a rally. The restructuring of the country's $2.4 billion in London Club debt seems finally to be gathering momentum, and analysts are calling it the next big CEE convergence trade. But are they getting over-excited? The Serbian minister of finance thinks so.

Diego Wauters, chairman and CEO of Coriolis Capital, was in hospital having a foot operation that was going to leave him wheelchair bound for three months when the company began setting up in its new offices.

Contraversy has dogged Mahathir Mohamad's 22 years' dedication to making Malaysia a healthy modern economy. Now on the brink of retirement the prime minister spoke to Chris Cockerill about his country's achievements and his refusal to bow to the prescriptions of the developed world.