Cash-strapped Belarus has finally made it onto the international ratings map – both Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s have assigned it ratings ahead of a planned debut sovereign Eurobond, which should be launched in the fourth quarter. Moody’s rated the country at its Ba2 level for foreign currency borrowings, and S&P graded it B+.

Harnessing market forces for innovation will create technology options, and a more stable climate, for future generations, argues Jon Anda, president of the Environmental Markets Network at Environmental Defense.

Several of the most important countries in the Caribbean are considering setting up a regional stock exchange, as capital markets in the region become more integrated. The stock exchanges of Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados already have compatible trading platforms, and their regulators are now exploring ways in which the bourses could become further linked. They are also considering a pan-Caribbean regulatory authority for capital markets, as a precursor to introducing a single currency.

A research note from macroeconomic research consultant Capital Economics says that current market turmoil will lead to hedge fund losses but performance won’t be as bad as feared, and investors are unlikely to turn away from the asset class.

As recent bridge collapses in the US and China illustrated, the difference between good and bad infrastructure is a matter of life and death. Nowhere is that more true than in Russia, where Soviet-era infrastructure is now creaking under the strain of coping with the increasing demands of the country’s booming market economy.

Citi has joined its emerging markets credit and global credit trading businesses. Carey Lathrop is the new head of the group, replacing Jim Higgins and Dave Pichler, who are leaving the bank. Lathrop has been at Citi since 1988 and was head of the investment-grade syndicate until 2003 when he took over emerging markets credit trading.

South African financial services group PSG Group says that it will seek a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange. The group, which is involved in private equity and corporate finance, financial advisory services, assurance operations and fund management, says it will issue up to 18 million shares to raise up to R400 million ($55.28 million) before the secondary listing on the LSE, if market conditions permit.

Despite the fallout from US sub-prime woes, analysts are optimistic about prospects for the global economy, as commodities remain strong. But the US drops out of the top five in Euromoney’s latest country risk rankings. Oliver Hexter reports.

Just when liquidity on Wall Street was starting to dry up in the summer, one US bank was taking it to a whole new dimension.

Standard & Poor’s has bought software services company Imake Consulting and ABSXchange, a portal for structured finance data, analytics and modelling.

National Bank of Kuwait is hoping to gain a bank branch licence in Syria soon. The bank is still preparing its application but expects to get the green light during the next two months.

Global warming is the biggest issue facing society. Markets can play a crucial role in combating climate change. Banks see a huge opportunity to be agents for good – and make plenty of money in the process. How big can green finance become? Clive Horwood investigates.

Jones Lang LaSalle, this year's winner of the Euromoney/Liquid real estate poll, is expanding with the global real estate markets. CEO Colin Dyer explains why a local feeling is important in a global market, and why sustainability makes business sense.

In the week of August 13 participants in the financial markets – credit traders, equity investors, heads of repo desks, hedge fund managers, risk controllers, originators and capital markets bankers, credit strategists, treasurers, chief financial officers – began to lose faith in the financial system itself. But why? What happened in this momentous week and how did it affect the financial global markets? Peter Lee was pounding the sidewalks of New York, sharing the bemusement of Wall Street.

A case has been filed by investors in Bear Stearns’ two hedge funds that collapsed because of sub-prime losses. The case, filed in August, claims that the bank misrepresented the extent of the sub-prime exposure in the funds.

Dramatic change ahead for quoting obligations and multiple trading platforms in sovereigns market.

The optimization of working capital is the treasurer’s crucial concern – all the more so as rates rise and credit conditions tighten. Financing issues within supply chains are key, and the increasing complexities of supplier-buyer relationships are creating new credit and payment pressures.

A return of normal attrition rates does not spell the end for hedge funds and many will profit from market dislocations, says Neil Wilson, editorial director at HedgeFund Intelligence.

Bank of London and the Middle East (BMLE) has advanced its bid to provide a bridge between southeast Asian and Middle Eastern Islamic finance. The bank, which became London’s second independent wholesale Islamic bank when it opened at the beginning of July, announced at the beginning of August that it had appointed a head of structured finance, Derek Weist. Weist comes to BMLE from ABC International Bank, where he was European head of Islamic banking and head of Islamic asset management. BMLE’s CEO, Humphrey Percy, says he hopes to expand their team from 35 to around 65 people over the next two years.

Hedge funds should broaden their horizons beyond Brazil to the rest of the region in their search for yield, says Lou Gerken, chief executive of Gerken Capital Associates (GCA). Although there are 148 hedge funds in Latin America, only nine are not based in Brazil and solely focused on the region’s biggest economy. But now it would seem that investors, such as GCA, are seeing an opportunity across the region as countries such as Peru and Colombia, as well as Brazil and Mexico, are set firmly on the route towards investment-grade status. On top of this, liquidity in the region has been improving, although mostly in Brazil, which can now give funds a choice of nearly 60 stocks to short.

Vladimir Evtushenkov, the chairman of Russian conglomerate Sistema, describes his company’s focus as consumer services but is tight-lipped about what that means. It apparently stretches to stakes in oil companies and a willingness to sell off what looked like a core element of a successful insurer. Laurence Neville reports.

Despite growing market volatility and the fallout from the US sub-prime crisis, Latin American stock markets remain hugely profitable after a three-year bull run. Investors worldwide are keen to get a piece of the action. With plans for regional stock exchanges and cross-border trading still at the draft stage, investors are turning to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to get exposure to such equity markets as Brazil’s Bovespa and Mexico’s IPC index and tap into high-yielding shares.

The disappearance of both CP investors and ABS buyers in August had grave consequences for those vehicles that rely on both.

The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) has set up a dedicated structured products market segment to help facilitate the trading of derivatives-based and other structured investments in the region.

Banks have come to realize that to make money from emissions trading markets they would do well to tie up with the consultants that understand the technicalities and with the corporates that own Clean Development Mechanism schemes. Peter Koh reports.

Lebanon’s banking sector is proving surprisingly resilient in spite of dire economic conditions, according to a recent report issued by one of the country’s largest banks.

The governor of Sama has led the Saudi economy through a turbulent but ultimately prosperous period during an unprecedented term of almost 25 years.

Internal Revenue Service regulations that become effective in January next year are forcing US hedge fund managers to re-evaluate how they defer fees.

With successful IPOs completed and the domestic economy humming, China’s banks have never been in better shape to venture overseas, and there are compelling reasons to do so. Chris Leahy reports.

Northern Rock’s inability to tap the wholesale funding market is a body blow for the whole sector.