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.

CDO Wells Notice has serious ramifications for S&P.

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

Banks need better regulation, but the terms and conditions set out by Basle III already look woefully out of date.

Disclosures from UBS about the details of the alleged fraudulent trading that has cost the bank $2.3 billion raise more questions than they answer about the extraordinary episode.

Exit would be more expensive than bailing out the periphery.

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

It’s easy to think with what’s going on in the eurozone that the biggest financial crisis facing the world is the future of sovereign debt. But without wishing to diminish its seriousness there’s one issue that overrides its importance: food prices.

Banks and their sovereigns are joined at the hip. It’s a toxic embrace.

The Arab World is entering a period of financial and political change. Banks must face up to the new realities.

The old adage ‘sell in May and go away’ usually advises investors to return in September. But debt investors in the US might want to hang back until December this year.

Claims that BTG Pactual’s proposed link-up with Cerfin will propel the Brazilian bank into global prominence are exaggerated.

Undermining of independence of regulators will deter foreign investment.

It would be good news for Europe if a powerful and independent IMF were to take a more prominent role in its sovereign crisis.

The initial relief rally that greeted the second bailout plan for Greece last month was predictably short-lived.

US regulators face a struggle in enlisting China to stamp out stock frauds.

If there is scant market reaction to a downgrade of the US sovereign, rating agencies will lose face.

Recoveries in Europe for distressed junior lenders compare well with the US despite the lack of a single bankruptcy framework.

A slowdown in emerging markets growth is the last thing a troubled global economy needs.

Banks find it difficult to square governments’ pressure to increase lending with governments’ parallel pressure to reduce bank risk .

Global banks have their uses but local firms are proving best adapted to this rising region.

The IFC’s response to the banking crisis in emerging Europe could offer guidance for those seeking a solution to Greece’s woes.

Evolution of its financial system gives confidence that the economy will not overheat.

Default at its telecoms operator might soon add to Ireland’s woes.

Many banks still can’t articulate a clear framework for taking on risk, and repairs to their failed risk IT systems are years from completion.

Amid the storm of accusations, counter-accusations and recriminations that has characterized the developing China overseas-listed stock scandal, much more has been written and said about the question of whether the companies involved are scams than what might have driven these alleged frauds to mislead their investors in the first place.

Nathaniel Rothschild’s latest investment vehicle pits huge reward potential against substantial downside risk.

France’s fiscal deficit and public debt are at worrying levels. If structural reforms prove difficult, the country might be dragged into the eurozone crisis.

The European stranglehold over the head of the IMF needs to be replaced with an appointment based on merit alone.