Macaskill on Markets

A US climate bill filled with green credits will create business for banks and provide relief from the backlash against ESG products.

West Virginia state treasurer Riley Moore has opened another front in a campaign by Republican officials in the US against banks that promote ESG policies.

HSBC Asset Management’s head of responsible investing has had it up to here with consultants and regulators lecturing him on climate change risk.

The SEC's authority to reform the US funds sector is coming under fire — even from law firms. Legal action against the SEC is being expected in some quarters.

The UK's financial regulator will take a dim view of companies that respond in a legalistic way to its investigations, threatening exemplary sanctions against those that don't cooperate fully.

The Swiss stock exchange hopes to steal business from rivals in EU countries by offering favourable listing rules.

Have French efforts to create a national champion in the pharmaceuticals industry left its companies more vulnerable to hostile takeovers?

Investors in European high-yield bonds have fought hard for structural security. Issuers that bypass it will have to pay a premium.

Banks and lawyers in the US face confusion over the tests used to determine their liability on securities fraud.

Has Silicon Valley finally got its groove back? Venture capital investment in start-up companies rose to $35 million in the third quarter, up 36% on the previous three months. M&A activity is also rising. And talk of a $20 billion initial public offering by Google is generating the kind of buzz last experienced in 1999.

Bankers claim a regulatory blunder in the offing will force securities trading activity out of the EU if it goes ahead, writes Emma Barraclough

UK brokers and fund managers are confronted bold new plans drawn up by regulator, the Financial Services Authority, to force them to separate trading and non-trading costs when they charge clients. Thomas Williams talks to Christina Sinclair, head of the FSA’s business standards department, about the proposals

Marconi’s restructuring is troubling the derivatives market. The banks that have bought protection against the company are unsure whether its agreement with lenders counts as a credit event. Could banks find their credit swaps against other companies are similarly vague?

US and UK law firms are collaborating and competing with domestic peers to reap the benefits of the Japanese securitization boom.

Recent post-Enron SEC statements confirm that public companies in the US will soon have to undergo far greater scrutiny than ever before.

There is huge potential in business-method patents, and the financial sector in the US has begun to realize this. As in so many other areas of intellectual property, Europe is being needlessly left behind.

A rash of European high-yield defaults has pointed up the skills of specialist law firms practised in pursuing the interests of bondholders.

Introduction of euro notes and coins involves complex decisions on the part of bankers on how to deal with legacy currencies in contracts.