Putin gets a strong but pliant central bank governor in Elvira Nabiullina. She might please other constituents too.

Plan might founder due to federal stance akin to that for a wider Eurobond.

Brazil’s consumption-led economy is starting to run aground.

More banks could ease their regulatory capital requirements by securitizing loan or derivative portfolios.

By accusing Standard & Poor’s of civil fraud the US Department of Justice has removed the rating agency’s First Amendment protection.

Investors are probably being too bullish about the size and buying power of Africa’s middle class.

Jamie Dimon’s dual role at JPMorgan has lost its sparkle and is past its sell-by date.

Citi, BAML and JPMorgan might need to issue subordinated debt to meet potential OLA requirements.

When Barclays announced its fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results last month these were entirely overshadowed by the strategy review from new chief executive Antony Jenkins. In the aftermath, analysts and investors bemoaned or applauded, depending on their biases, the decision to retain the investment bank largely unscathed and re-emphasize its importance and particularly that of the FICC division to the group.

The balance-sheet re-leveraging involved in big M&A deals threatens companies’ credit standings and thus their bondholders’ paper.

HSBC’s withdrawal from some Latin American markets looks ill-advised in view of growth and regional integration prospects.

RBS’s investment banking head John Hourican is the fall-guy for the bank’s Libor-rigging fine, but he should be lauded for the job he has done in the most difficult circumstances.

The European Central Bank’s announcement that 278 eurozone banks repaid €137.2 billion of their long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) borrowings on January 30 was seized upon by the market as supporting evidence for a broad range of contradictory positions.

Improved eurozone sentiment has seen sterling lose its safe-haven status and has renewed worries about the UK’s credit rating.

It might well be Asia’s century, but the dependence of the region’s investment banks on equity issuance puts them in a tight corner.

The so-called great rotation from bonds to equities is already under way, but such a shift will be neither rapid nor particularly smooth.

Two recent Latin American sovereign issues suggest investor enthusiasm might be outrunning risk.

Higher fund allocations to Nigeria might be justified, but the timing isn’t.

More important than the details of the revision of the liquidity coverage ratio is the Basle Committee’s new pragmatism and realization that it might be blamed for weak bank lending.

Private banks must pay heed to regulatory and technological change, and changing client attitudes, or face extinction.

Growth-focused monetary policy from the new BoE governor would stir a heated debate.

There was a lot of talk last year about global markets climbing a wall of worry, as credit underwent a spectacular rally and equities too climbed beyond most people’s expectations.

Demand pressure weighs on fixed-income market.

Banks have a long list of divisions up for sale but there are almost no buyers – a worrying sign for shareholders and regulators.

Capital controls look as likely as inflation targeting in upcoming monetary policy.

Without a currency swap line between London and Beijing, London might lack the corporate confidence it needs to become an offshore renminbi hub in the west.

Russia must employ careful persistence in its movement towards a floating exchange rate.

Potential reform of money market sector is pitting established regulatory bodies against newcomers, with messy results.

Asia DCM specialists still have their foot on the accelerator, but it might soon be time to hit the brakes.

Intensified property speculation in Dubai is one of the more worrying signs of excessive risk-taking in emerging markets.