Search results for

6 - 57 - 47

Military government described as inept, while foreign business wobbles.

Monolines do not take on risk, they sell protection. Investors that buy wrapped bonds are not buying a triple-A bond, they are buying a financial guarantee. Fortunately, the default history of the industry means that investors do not have to dwell on the implications of this very often. But the protracted saga of Eurotunnel’s debt restructuring (which was finally resolved in January this year) is a salutary lesson for any investor as to what a monoline wrap actually means.

May 1 2004 might turn out to have been one of the more decisive recent milestones in the evolution of the German financial services sector. That was the day when board members of Commerzbank and HVB met at a hotel at Frankfurt Airport to discuss their merger plans.

Little more than a year ago Commerzbank was the sick man of European finance, seemingly destined to a lonely, perhaps terminal, decline. Now insiders say the surprise acquisition of Eurohypo has given the merged firm, and its investment bank, a new lease of life. Philip Moore reports on the patient’s progress.

A lack of comfort with the new product, and muted risk appetite for the asset class, resulted in thin market conditions for the newly launched ABX tranches – called TABX. The thunder of the much-anticipated start to TABX was stolen by the dramatic price falls in the ABX. Although the pace of innovation in the synthetic ABS sector has been nothing short of breathtaking – in a little over a year the market has developed indices, single-name CDS and now tranches – the latest innovation comes at a time when dealers’ view of the technology is far from clear-cut.

An increasing number of funds of hedge funds are issuing collateralized fund obligations. There have been 20 such transactions, 10 of which were launched in 2006. "We expect the number of CFO transactions in 2007 to surpass that of 2006," says Ken Margolis, co-head of global CDOs at Merrill Lynch.

The SEC has launched a probe into allegations that Wall Street firms might be tipping off certain customers, namely hedge funds, before large trades are made by mutual funds, a practice often referred to as "front-running".

Brazil specifically – not Latin America – is one of ABN Amro’s four core markets. And there’s every indication that the Dutch bank intends to keep things that way. Felix Salmon reports

Brazil’s investment banks have always been strong competitors in their home market. Now, as the country’s corporates flex their muscles on the global stage, Lawrence White reports on whether banks such as Itaú and Votorantim see ­themselves as international contenders.

The growth in volumes may be higher across the region, but a NYSE listing still has big advantages for the right companies at the right stage of their development. Felix Salmon reports.

Status boosted by the February decisions of EBS to list it on its screens and of Euroclear to accept it as a settlement currency.