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ENRC floated in London last year on the promise that it would make transformational acquisitions globally. Its play for Kazakh rival Kazakhmys has, however, proved abortive. So what next for ENRC and its frustrated shareholders? Elliot Wilson reports.

Switzerland is surviving very well as all around it, economic difficulties grow. Long may it last, despite the US economy, and all countries depending on it, steadily worsening.

Emerging markets - RUSSIA: The communist spectre

The National University of Singapore is set to put out for public consultation a proposal for its Singapore Residential Price Index, a benchmark that market watchers are confident will help sustain an OTC derivative market. "We will be working on some details this month ahead of a public consultation exercise which we hope to conduct in October," according to an official closely involved with the index creation..

It’s no comment from them and almost no comment from us.

Standard Chartered has promoted Todd McDonald to the new role of global head of FX electronic pricing and trading. McDonald, who was previously the bank’s FX trading head, Americas, will be based in Singapore. As a result of his move, Keith Underwood, currently head FX trading, UK and Europe, will relocate to New York.

Of all the cross-market relationships, none is attracting as much attention as the EUR/USD-oil link right now.

HSBC wants to sell 452 Fifth Avenue, its 29-story headquarters at 40th Street. The firm has hired Jones Lang LaSalle, which is conducting tours for potential buyers. Bids are expected to be due in late September. A spokeswoman for HSBC said the decision to sell is part of a plan by the bank to lease its buildings rather than own them.

Citigroup is said to be working with a number of banks to put together a new commercial mortgage-backed securities deal, which could hit the market as early as this month.

The $1.6 billion Sonoma County Employees Retirement System is looking at how to implement environmental investing into its existing real estate portfolio. Mark Billeci, managing director of Principal Real Estate Investors, gave an educational presentation to the board this month’s meeting, stressing the benefits of investing in green office buildings, said Trustee John Pels. These buildings leave a smaller carbon footprint on the environment and leave employees happier and more productive, Pels added. It might also be harder to rent non-green buildings in the future because the industry is already moving in this direction and many tenants will be interested, Billeci told trustees. "You’re going to be left out," Pels said.

The nature of the custody system makes part of a proposal from the Securities and Exchange Commission on exchange-traded fund redemptions thorny, according to a group of global broker/dealers. Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs last month wrote a joint letter to the regulator expressing concern over the proposal that would require brokers to confirm that a redemption from an ETF by an institutional investor does not make up more than 3% of the ETF's shares.

Recently RBS announced three new non-executive directors with experience in the banking industry. Have a look at the first story to reveal the appalling lack of financial expertise among independent directors of the world's largest financial institutions – our February 2008 cover story, 'Board Stupid'