Concerns about an economic slowdown now weigh on capital markets.

Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Company and Brazil’s Bradesco Asset Management have agreed to set up a mutual fund that will invest in Brazilian bonds.

Lawyers around the world are readying lawsuits to file against banks that sold toxic products to investors. Which types of deals are likely to be the subject of the biggest payouts? And how will banks pay for them?

Australia’s new finance minister still has to convince his fellow citizens that he can keep the economy on an even keel.

Bureau de change claims liberalization of country’s regulations.

The BarclayHedge CTA Index ended July up 7.08% year to date, outperforming the aggregate hedge fund index by more than 10%. The Barclay hedge fund index, however, returned –4.45% up to the end of July. Returns such as these are encouraging investors to allocate to CTAs away from other strategies, say managers.

Poland continues to be a leading source of private equity business in emerging Europe, with recent transactions demonstrating the country’s attraction from both a retailing and manufacturing perspective.

Banks are booming in Nigeria on the back of oil revenue inflows. But solutions to some of the country’s problems – particularly the need for infrastructure development and a reversal of falls in oil production – remain stymied by an inflexible political system. Rupert Wright reports.

The Middle East's most successful banks remain on a determined course for growth, both regionally and in terms of the products they offer. Will the boom in financial markets and services continue, despite political uncertainty and the contagion of the credit crunch?

Commodity prices will need to go higher again to prompt consumer and producer actions that bring them down.

Mexico’s capital markets have held up better following the US sub-prime crisis than experts expected, highlighted by recent issuances of record-size residential mortgage-backed securities.

"Why did I tell you that? Please, please forget that I mentioned it," a chief wailed.

The chief executives of 11 of the world's biggest banks discuss the lessons they have learnt from the global financial crisis, their concerns over a regulatory backlash, and how they plan to rebuild profitability in the toughest markets in history.

The Eurobond market has existed for 45 years and its infrastructure reflects that. Bondholder trustees are gearing up to change one aspect that should improve their ability to obtain bondholder agreements. The present system – if it can be called a system – requires bondholders to receive 21 days’ notice of a meeting, which might or might not be quorate. If it is not quorate, another 14 days must elapse before another meeting can take place. The method through which bondholders are notified is equally antiquated. Investors are informed via newspaper adverts or through clearing agents.

Some 190 IPOs seeking to raise $33.1 billion in capital have been postponed or withdrawn across the world so far this year, according to Dealogic.

Palestine is a surprisingly attractive prospect – good enough to hold the attention of private and public investors at a conference this year. But Gaza, which must develop pari passu with the West Bank if the Territories are to prosper, is an unstable imponderable. Chris Wright reports.

The growing trade links between Russia and Serbia are likely to lead to a greater Russian presence in the Balkan country’s banking sector. That is the view of Alexei Sytnikov, vice-president of Bank of Moscow, Russia’s fifth-largest banking group by assets, which has established a wholly owned subsidiary in the Serbian capital Belgrade with an initial investment of €15 million. "We believe that the probability of other Russian players entering the Serbian market is very high," says Sytnikov, who is responsible for Bank of Moscow’s international banks. He adds that all the prerequisites for Russian banks, most likely from among the top 30 players, are in place for them to look to set up subsidiaries in Serbia – strong economic growth, a relatively low level of competition in the financial services sector and a growing Russian business presence.

Mexico’s central bank governor has achieved rock-star status with his tough line on inflation by standing up to the president’s pressure to reduce interest rates.

"It is not reasonable that any director can truly independently understand and monitor the full range of risks and complexities in today's highly sophisticated hedge fund" -Don Seymour, DMS Management

The vice governor for international affairs says financial sanctions will not halt the country's growth, as president Ahmadinejad tells the UN the US's years of domination are over.

Turkey set out on the road to EU accession some 60 years ago but the goal remains elusive. Turkish bankers consider the journey worthwhile. But, they muse, if the country keeps on being spurned it should look east rather than west to apply its new-found expertise and dynamism. Eric Ellis reports.

Deutsche Bank has appointed Tiina Lee as head of European financial institutions capital origination. It is a new role at the bank that combines capital origination for debt and equity capital markets. The rationale is to take the bank’s alignment of the capital markets businesses in debt and equity to the next level, says Deutsche Bank. The present crisis, with banks, especially, in dire need of capital makes this type of approach from intermediaries increasingly important.

The country is looking to the future under a pro-investment government. Foreign banks, private equity funds and manufacturers are interested, but there’s no guaranteed alpha on the Mekong. Lawrence White reports.

Peru’s dramatic rise from market pariah to investors’ darling was capped this year with investment-grade status awarded by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, opening Peruvian capital markets to huge interest among institutional investors. Ironically, Alan García, the president who made Peruvian debt a no-go area in the 1980s with soaring inflation and bond defaults, oversaw the upgrades in his second term, two decades later as a free-market convert.

India’s state-owned banks still dominate finance, but they’re having to find new ways to compete with private firms – within the tight constraints imposed by government. Dominic O’Neill reports.

The bank has shone through Kazakhstan’s financial sector gloom thanks to the chief executive’s cautious policies that he put in place while rivals were borrowing abroad to fund over-risky lending. Elliot Wilson reports.

Chief executives need to lead from the front to achieve cross-company support for supply chain management projects and they need to identify the right partners to help them adopt successful strategies.

The Brazilian billionaire built Banco Pactual into one of Latin America’s foremost investment banks before selling it to UBS in 2006. After an inglorious and turbulent two-year stint at the Swiss firm, he is returning to his entrepreneurial roots by setting up a new asset management company. He talks to Chloe Hayward about his plans.

Alessandro Profumo has built his banking group through acquisitions, cementing his reputation as a brilliant dealmaker. The challenge facing UniCredit’s CEO is to get the most out of his empire. At the heart of the group’s strategy is aggressive organic growth in emerging Europe. Sudip Roy reports.

Bankers are in the final stages of preparing Iran’s first ever securitization, according the head of a Tehran investment bank.