The US is unlikely to remain the world’s engine of growth. The trade deficit is at a record high, the federal budget has reverted to deficit, and talk of a fall in consumer spending, even deflation, is growing. The Bush administration appears hell-bent on war with Iraq. Congressional politics are acrimonious and gridlock is the likely outcome of upcoming mid-term elections.

Euromoney’s analysts have taken a measured view of such hyperbole as the “axis of evil” and resisted over-reacting to the situation in such regional crisis points as southern Africa. Latin America’s troubled economies suffer the severest downgrades.

The affair is not over but investors’ passion for a new EU convergence story has cooled. They are beginning to price in the impact of delays to entry for leading candidates, the long run-in for others, and the unlikelihood of rapid single-currency status for any new members.

When it comes to corruption, some things never change. While Nigeria is consistently seen as one of the most corrupt countries, Finland, Denmark and New Zealand are viewed as perennially clean.

South Africa

Equity exchanges

Latin America

Credit markets have contracted dramatically in recent months and all but the safest borrowers, which have benefited from a flight to quality, have had to pay a high price for funds. On the buy side investors want assurances that they will be protected from risk. The banks that have performed best in this year’s capital-raising poll are therefore those that have come furthest in developing complex products that can save money for borrowers and enable lenders to hedge effectively.

South Africa’s big banks have first-world management, technology and systems but operate in an emerging market where growth prospects are poor and the future is uncertain. They’re seeking ways to grow without risking the bank.

Finnish telecom Sonera’s writing off of unpromising 3G licences has delighted its prospective partner, Sweden’s Telia. But the merger deal is not quite sealed and investigations continue.

To talk, as many people do, of common technological standards in the drive towards straight-through processing is hypothetical. In the purest sense, there is no such thing. The same can also be said of straight-through processing itself.

US business leaders fear a heavy-handed legal and regulatory response to accounting scandals. The same fear was widespread in the 1930s. But the much hated laws and regulations laid down then set the foundations for a vibrant financial sector.

For over a decade the triumph of the Anglo-American model of capitalism seemed assured: but no longer. So what happened to the Washington Consensus, and what new ideology might replace it?

Kazakhstan has had more success than most former Soviet states in reforming its power sector. Electricity suppliers hope prices can be pushed higher but the abundance of oil and gas will limit rises.

In a region where private-equity flows are rapidly drying up, many investors regard Korea as a relatively lucrative safe haven. But even in Korea it’s an arduous task putting deals together and successful exits have been few and far between.

Interdealer brokers Cantor Fitzgerald and Icap fought a bitter courtroom battle this year over staff poaching. Now the two are armed for conflict in electronic bond broking.

From the highway packed with crawling traffic heading downtown you can see the tangle of buckled carriages skewed across the track. Final test runs of the AirTrain, San Francisco's state-of-the-art driverless airport link, don't seem to be going to plan.

Businessmen are joining Kazakhstan's democracy movement as independent economic activity hits a ceiling.

Head of EMEA debt markets, Merrill Lynch

Is the three-year equity bear market nearing its end? Or is it just the beginning of a financial and economic collapse that could shake the very core of the free-market capitalist system?

September 11 awakened financial institutions to the inadequacies of their business continuity systems. Across the industry, much thinking has been done about how to implement such systems. But in the course of the past year, some firms have nodded off again.

Asia

When investment bankers decide it is time to leave their industry, many take extended leave or choose to retire altogether. Milen Veltchev went straight to being Bulgaria’s finance minister.

Global bond strategist, Pimco