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The word once again in New York is that leading investment banks will have to subsume themselves in larger, commercial banking organizations or face loss of business. It's an old argument. And it's as wrong as it ever was.

Equities

Larger Asian companies have seen the benefits from improving their governance in investment and foreign expansion. Now smaller companies are also recognizing the advantages of compliance with international standards and starting to shine in our annual best Asian companies poll.

Many US corporates will be breathing a sigh of relief after the announcement by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it will grant certain companies an extra 45 days to submit reports on their internal controls. At present companies are obliged to submit annual reports to the SEC within 75 days after the end of the fiscal year. Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley requires that these annual reports include a management assessment on internal controls over financial reporting, as well as the related auditor's report on the management's assessment.

It's that time of year all employees look forward to - the Christmas office party, a chance to let down your hair with fellow colleagues and drink and eat your employer out of business. But it is not only the bar bill your boss could be dreading.

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GE is not just a big lender. Through its diverse manufacturing and service operations the group has also built up vast experience in business processes. So it was reckoned to make sense to offer consultancy to potential clients for free in the hope that their businesses would grow on the back of that advice and that they would then turn to GE to fund that expansion.

Dropping the First Boston name is the easy part of Credit Suisse's plan to refocus its investment banking strategy, a plan to be officially unveiled this month. It will be harder for the Swiss bank to figure what it wants CSFB to become. Some early indications about where CSFB might place its bets in response to external and internal pressures suggest it might be embarking on another arduous journey.

Top bankers' talking shop the Institute of International Finance and the G-20 group of sovereign borrowers have proudly unveiled a new set of principles for orderly restructuring of sovereign debt. The Argentina fiasco underscores the urgent need for such an agreement. Unfortunately, this one was negotiated without much input from the most important groups of creditors.

The biggest ever mutual fund scandal is staring us in the face, reckons Henry Blodget. All that is needed is for an aggressive prosecutor to capitalize on the obvious.

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