Belgium is seen as one of the bright spots in the eurozone and competition is increasing for the assets of the country’s wealthiest individuals. For those with investment expertise and knowledge of the intricacies of the Belgian wealth market, the future looks promising.

Related coverage:

Euromoney’s inaugural credit survey confirms the broad market power of three elite fixed-income houses, and points to a widening gulf between the haves and have-nots of the global credit markets. Joti Mangat reports.

Citic’s qualified success not a barometer for others; Issuers pull deals as sentiment weakens

"You shouldn’t automatically take it for granted that the world is going to end"

More pressure on East African currencies; Kenyan central bank raises rates

Amid the gloom of the IMF meetings, it was comforting to know that at least some people in the US Treasury were having a good time.

"Don’t be a dick"

Rumours knock Ping An down 14% in a day; Soc Gen predicts big rally

Faced with an unpalatable menu of policy choices, there is concern that another course will be taken: financial repression. It is the economic prescription favoured by Fagin. Bondholders should beware.

Chile sovereign bucks a trend; More Chile deals might set benchmark

On September 27, Enesa Participações became the latest Brazilian company to pull an IPO. However, a couple of days after that announcement Colombia’s Grupo Exito completed a successful Ps2.5 trillion ($1.3 billion) follow-on to highlight the country’s strongly performing equity market.

Chief executives say French banks’ exposure to risky European sovereigns is minimal; Loss of access to funding will speed asset and business disposals

Investment banking revenue figures compiled by Dealogic for the first nine months of 2011 confirm a shocking sudden stop in the third quarter of the year. Global investment banking revenue reached $53.2 billion in the first nine months of 2011, up 10% from the first nine months of 2010. That increase was despite third-quarter revenue of just $11.8 billion being the lowest total since the first quarter of 2009 and down 45% from the second quarter’s $21.4 billion.

Investment bank expects 30% fall in revenues; FICC business holding up

Default won’t trigger CDS; Greek CDS hedges unwound

My concern about succession planning at UBS was well founded. As politicians, central bankers and financiers gathered in Washington for the IMF/World Bank meetings, the UBS board met in Singapore. And contrary to what most people including myself had expected, UBS’s chief executive Oswald Grübel resigned, saying that he had to bear ultimate responsibility for the recent rogue-trading scandal inflicted on the bank by Kweku Adoboli.

GDP growth must be sufficient to outweigh possible deleterious effects of sovereign budget cuts and measures to increase revenues. It’s an impossible ask for Japan and an extremely tough one for the eurozone.

Anti-monopoly regulator approves plan; New securities laws awaited

Halyk Finance to act on sale of electricity grid; State seeks more international banks for deals

CDO Wells Notice has serious ramifications for S&P.

Medvedev and Putin’s next finance minister has a lot to live up to.

Banks need better regulation, but the terms and conditions set out by Basle III already look woefully out of date.

The mood at the IMF meetings was doom and gloom. News of UBS’s rogue trader loss didn’t help.

Emerging markets central banks are moving away from using rate changes solely to control inflation. Brazil seems to have joined the trend.

Banks desperate for business are faced with renewed demands for hard underwriting.

Exit would be more expensive than bailing out the periphery.

The run on Morgan Stanley’s stock and credit default swaps in the final days of September had alarming similarities to the collapse in confidence in the bank during 2008.

Telecom IPOs prepare for market; Bank M&A activity in pipeline

New investment bank to rival BTG Pactual; Solvency of small banks under pressure