Search results for

Nordea has become the first bank anywhere to completely outsource its company equity research. It is unlikely to be the last. The pan-Nordic bank is to cease its own coverage of stocks in the Nordic region and will instead buy research on 200 regional stocks, including buy, sell and hold recommendations, from Standard & Poor's. This follows a similar deal with S&P last year in which Nordea outsourced all its US, European and Asian company equity research coverage to the US group.

Bulgaria cleared an important hurdle when it finally approved the sale of mobile phone company BTC to a consortium led by Advent International in February, in one of the region's largest leveraged buy-outs. Financing for the deal finally closed in June. Gyuri Karady of Baring Private Equity Partners says: ?It tested the legal framework in Bulgaria, and it looks like the rule of law prevailed, which is a triumph for Bulgaria.? Progress on the deal was one of the factors that helped the country obtain an investment-grade rating later in the year.

A major obstacle to domestic corporate financing for Iranian companies is the cost of borrowing from the banks, whose lending is largely directed by the government.

www.breakingviews.com

Ever the bashful bride, Turkey's Garanti Bank has turned away from a second marriage offer from Italy's Banca Intesa over apparent differences on long-term risks, values and the treatment of employees in the post-merger environment. The merger, which unravelled in July after scarcely a three-month engagement, would have joined Italy's largest bank, with assets of almost $330 billion, and Turkey's number three financial institution, with assets of about $16 billion and shareholder equity of $1.75 billion.

For years, Deutsche Bank's Asian equity business was little more than an also-ran. The bank had a reputation for aggressive tactics and profligate hiring but failed to build a credible business, to the amusement of rivals. But with new management hired to fix the problems, Deutsche seems to be getting it right.

European and US equity markets have mirrored each other for years but macro trends could force a decoupling over the next two years. ABN Amro strategists see several factors paving the way for this. The first is that productivity growth in the US and Europe has passed an inflection point. The US has experienced two years of strong productivity growth, but the rate is unlikely to be sustainable. European productivity still has room for improvement.

When it comes to picking stocks and beating the market, women are better, says DigitalLook.com. In a study of 100,000 portfolios from July 2003 to July 2004, the company found the average woman's portfolio grew 10%, beating the FTSE All-Share by 3% and the average man's portfolio by 4%.

Structured credit is becoming a syndicated market. At the forefront of this development is JPMorgan, which in April structured and launched the first syndicated single-tranche collateralized swap obligation, a CDO whose underlying reference portfolio consists of credit derivative swaps. Aria CDO 1 is an active deal managed by AXA Investment Managers. JPMorgan recruited a five-strong group of selling banks to distribute the deal just as it would involve co-lead arrangers to sell a corporate bond.

Following a period of sustained economic growth, the Caribbean is faced with a new challenge. Recent developments in international legislation might reduce capital inflows and put more pressure on the region's financial sector.

South African banks are working out how to structure and finance the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) deals that are altering the ownership structure of the country's financial services industry. Under South Africa's voluntary Financial Sector Charter, direct black ownership in financial institutions should reach 10% by 2010.

Citigroup's trading on European government bond platform MTS on August 2 has provoked a lot of hyperbole. Citigroup sold e11 billion of European government bonds on MTS and bought e4 billion back a few minutes later at a lower price, making a profit and causing losses at other primary dealers. According to one financial newspaper, Citigroup has "systematically targeted other market makers' mandatory price quotes", which has "shocked rivals". Consequently, the eurozone government bond market has been "thrown into turmoil" and apparently national debt agencies have been forced into a period of "intense soul searching".