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The world is starting to resemble a spinning top: one week the markets soar, the next they sink. Even mighty masters of the universe are confused: hedge funds and banks had a dire month in March. And could there be a mightier master than Hank Paulson, the present US Treasury secretary and former Goldman Sachs chief executive?

Mexico is expected to take the first crucial steps towards improving its oil sector and liberalizing aspects of state-owned Pemex’s management. An energy reform proposal was sent to the Mexican congress on April 9 by president Felipe Calderón, and will be voted on shortly. Analysts are confident that the bill will be passed and, despite one opposition party, PRD, claiming this is "back door privatization", key players of the other opposition party, the PRI, support the reform.

The sideways, low-volatility markets of the past two years are gone, so how should investors review their currency management strategies? Should they consider shifting mandates from quant to discretionary? And should capital preservation take over from return maximization?

Growth potential is the buzz-phrase in the central and eastern European private equity market. Many in the market are extolling its virtues, not to mention its returns, but what are the hidden risks? Jethro Wookey reports.

BNP Paribas is presenting MillionTreesNYC in New York, a citywide, public-private scheme with the goal of planting and caring for a million trees across New York’s five boroughs over the next 10 years. Introduced as one of mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 127 PlaNYC initiatives to create a healthier, sustainable city, MillionTreesNYC will increase the city’s tree-count by 20%.

As a new approach to financial PR it may take some time to bed in.

Can the rapid growth of e-trading in recent years continue?

Romania is vulnerable to the global credit crisis, with its current account in deficit, a budget shortfall and a domestic credit binge.

Leading Russian corporates Gazprom and Evraz both attracted strong support for Eurobond issues in April. Gas company Gazprom sold a $1.5 billion five- and 10-year deal via Citi and Morgan Stanley; steel producer Evraz sold $1.6 billion of five- and 10-year paper via ABN Amro, Calyon, Deutsche Bank, and UBS. Both issues were heavily oversubscribed and performed well in aftermarket trading. VTB, the country’s second-biggest bank, is set to follow with a $1 billion issue, the first in a series of transactions that will involve it seeking $4 billion of foreign funding this year.

The Bank of England’s special liquidity scheme does nothing that hasn’t already been done by the Fed and the ECB – except on more onerous terms.

Private equity is booming in emerging Europe, according to new figures from ISI Dealwatch. But what are the hidden risks?