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United Airlines, the embattled air transport operator, looks set to spark the biggest pension default in US corporate history as it approaches bankruptcy proceedings. And with investors in US Airways and Delta Airlines also eyeing Chapter 11 proceedings, it seems the worst may be yet to come for employees at US airlines. United's pension fund obligations amount to $6.4 billion and would add to the $9.4 billion deficit already assumed by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Organisation (PBGO), the federal agency that insures US corporate pension plans.

The concept of cheaper cross-border euro payments is moving a step closer as a further 14 banks from the EU join the STEP2 programme as direct participants. The programme, created by the European Banking Association (EBA) as a pan-European clearing house, hopes to have more than 300 banking members by 2005: the year-end figure for 2004 will stand at 81. The STEP2 system processes around 110,000 payments every day and provides payments distribution to all banks operating in Europe's main financial hubs. Commission on cross-border trades previously stood at around ?24, but the system reduces costs per trade to less than ?0.5 on many transactions.

The end of the takeover battle for UK over-50s group Saga is good news for private equity but bad news for the equity capital markets.

Publication: SABI - Business News

It has been a stop-start year in the international debt capital markets, with banks themselves the latest group of issuers to take advantage of investors' search for yield by raising low-cost funds. Banks' capital markets desks are struggling to sell corporates on the joys of leverage.

A study by Peter Wong, the head of Hong Kong's association of corporate treasurers (HKACT), has identified six primary challenges for the convergence of international financial reporting standards (IFRSs). The study, commissioned by the International Federation of Accountants, concludes the main challenges are:

For New Yorkers 'wait' is like the f-word, but in recent weeks they've had to display uncharacteristic patience.

Automation of short-term investment is at the cutting edge of cash management, but deciding how to take advantage of this is not easy. Banks are making an effort to rationalize the routines involved.

Belarus

The Church of England's senior prelate, Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury, hosted a lively discussion about capital flows in the global economy and their impact on emerging markets last month.

Leveraged buy-outs