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Two leading Russian investment banks, Troika Dialog and Trust Investment Bank, have both completed management buy-outs.

Participants Katie Martin, Dow Jones Let me start by setting the scene a bit. The most recent study from the Bank for International Settlements found a one-third rise in daily trading volumes to $1.9 trillion a day. Financial accounts and hedge funds formed a big part of that boom, with their share of the volume rising to about a third. That segment is understated too as prime brokerage relationships allow clients to execute under their banks' name. So it appears that the battle to convince investors that currencies do provide a meaningful source of returns has been won. Monica, why has this asset class sprung to life as it has?

Two recent deals for funding in the public-private partnership market use innovative structures. Banks and construction companies are starting to find funding advantages as the capital markets warm to project finance assets

Debate: Is currency the perfect asset class?

Revision of Greece's public finance accounts has underlined the need for a big effort to reduce budget deficits. However, the government seems unwilling to tackle crucial areas such as social security reform. Dimitris Kontogiannis reports

Head of UK institutional business, F&C Asset Management

Congratulations to Tim Herrington on his appointment as chairman of the UK Financial Services Authority's regulatory decisions committee. As head of the global asset management group at international law firm Clifford Chance, he undoubtedly has the technical expertise needed for his new role.

Julius Baer has decided to pull out of the North American wealth management market, having sold its private-banking business there to UBS Wealth Management for an undisclosed amount. The mid-size Swiss bank had been in the US since 1940, and was ones of the first Swiss private banks to be onshore in the region.

Linklaters has emerged at the top of mergermarket's 2004 European league table of legal advisors advising on 236 deals worth EUR 197.5bn. The UK law firm, ranked second last year, has a comfortable EUR 29.9bn lead over second place arch rival Clifford Chance which advised on EUR 167.7bn worth of deals. Clifford Chance, on the other hand, tops the volume table advising on 242 deals this year.

Donald Morgan will start the New Year as CFO of technology company RAE Systems, replacing Joseph Ng who leaves the company for personal reasons.

As Christmas approaches, CF brings you news of CFOs who will be raising a toast to new found jobs over the festive season. Dennis Blazer should have a cheerful Christmas and a lucrative New Year after his appointment as CFO of CECO Environmental, the US air pollution control company. The 57 year-old stands to receive a $150,000 a year salary as well as 50,000 stock options at $3.35 a share. He was previously CFO of Interlott, a company that makes lottery ticket vending machines, and replaces Marshall Morris who resigned in November.

Yesterday Vivendi Universal bought back the last of its high yield bonds, paying ?400 million to complete the company's turnaround from an overly-stretched, international entertainment operation to a French-focused, investment-grade corporate.