The economic situation in Iran is likely to deteriorate further as the west steps up its sanctions against the regime, say analysts at the Institute of International Finance.

Could mobile banking revolutionize the Nigerian banking sector? Some analysts think so. The demand for mobile banking is there, in principle, but security concerns and high transaction costs are moderating the pace of adoption.

Israel’s score has shown tremendous volatility so far this year, and has slipped four places in the rankings to 33rd, yet overall several of its key indicators have risen.

ECR experts remain divided over the perceived risks to banking systems in the MENA region, and with only five of MENA’s 18 countries scoring more than 6.0 out of 10 for this particular risk indicator, it is clear it is not just Europe that has substantial solvency and liquidity issues.

Country risk continued to increase across the Middle East and North African region during the first half of this year, according to experts taking part in Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey, although the changes in risk scores varied as some countries became safer.

A weakening currency, strong credit growth and inflationary pressure will force the central bank to raise interest rates in the teeth of political pressure, imperiling the government’s growth target, analysts say.

Although the Gulf remains the safest bloc within the MENA region, its six constituent countries still display diverse prospects in terms of the three main categories of risk in Euromoney’s survey (see chart).

The wealthier Gulf-based oil and gas producers – underpinned by their strong fiscal and current-account balances – have, in the main, either resisted the plummeting scores seen for Egypt, Tunisia, Libya et al, or still rank comparatively highly for their sovereign safety.

EM FX is less undervalued than it has been for a decade despite the sharp falls in high-yielding currencies, such as the Turkish lira, Indian rupee and South African rand, in recent months.

The decision by Fitch to strip France of its AAA rating confirms its fall from sovereign grace but the belated move is unlikely to trigger a rise in borrowing costs.

Equity-style trading is likely in the FX market by 2017, allowing all participants unrestricted access to currency liquidity – a shift that will present challenges to many banks participating in the world’s largest financial market.

Al Noor listing shows reality; Morocco suffers on frontier downgrade

Ten of the region’s 18 countries have suffered from score declines since December, led by Egypt and other unstable polities.

The southern continent’s risk build-up is underlined by falling scores for South Africa and Zimbabwe, but many other African bond issuers have resisted the downturn.

A broad rebalancing of country risk perceptions has taken place this year, according to the June results of Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey.

June was the worst month for emerging markets since at least 2008. What about the next five years?

The fallout from the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi is difficult to predict, but there seem to be two clear winners unless we see a dramatic change in the relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and their opponents, argues Emad Mostaque, strategist at Noah Capital Markets.

Turmoil places onus on whichever administration holds power to rectify economic imbalances.

'Financial repression' after the global financial crisis has created an environment of low yield and has changed investor patterns with a long-lasting effect on pension funds, says Create-Research.

The popularity of some seemingly high-risk frontier bond issues suggests investors are driven by the need to fill index allocations rather than issuer quality. It also suggests the traditional market-capitalization approach of indices needs reconsideration.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, or DSK as he likes to style himself, has made an unusual comeback to the economic scene. After a two-year hiatus following charges of sexual assault in a swanky New York hotel room, Strauss-Kahn has decided to take things back to basics. In South Sudan.

Returning to the category of imperial CEOs, most would agree that Bob Diamond, the former Barclays chief, was an earlier poster boy: a Do-it-my-way-or-take-the-highway kind of boss.

A sell-off in emerging market local currency debt is on the cards amid global deflation, a stronger dollar and rising US Treasury yields, say bearish analysts. If these predictions ring true it won’t be pretty for FX unhedged real money investors.

QInvest bid for EFG Hermes collapses; New buyouts show what is possible

CMA looking at foreign access; Revenues lagging UAE

When Nemir Kirdar set up Investcorp in 1982, he didn’t just want to set up a new investment vehicle – he had the ambition to create an institution that would last for the long term. More than 30 years have passed since then and, with Investcorp still going strong, he has evidently succeeded.