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Last year, at the IMF meetings in Dubai, the Iraqi delegation was led by Adil Abdul Mahdi. At the time, he was already a leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the leading Shiite party in the country.

Today, Mahdi is minister of finance in Iraq's interim government, charged with restructuring the country's debts before the end of the year. Here, he speaks to Euromoney in his first detailed comments on the subject since he took office.

Real money investors such as mutual funds, as well as credit hedge funds, prop traders and other specialist investors, are finally treating credit risk as an asset class to be managed like any other. They bring new liquidity to the markets in default swaps and credit indices that have made this possible.

Hossein Abdoh Tabrizi obtained a doctorate in finance from the Manchester Business School in 1977. He has been secretary-general of the Tehran Stock Exchange since May 2003 and is also a member of the exchange's high council. He speaks to Euromoney's Kate Luxford.

A well-executed privatization programme, carefully directed investment in education, valuable trade agreements and astute management of debt and inflation have underscored the growing health of the Jordanian economy, symbolized by its graduation from IMF programmes.

Through western eyes, China and India might seem locked in a struggle for economic supremacy. The truth is quite different. The economies are complementary more than being competitors with each other, and the implications will shape the global economy for decades to come.

Sandy Nairn loves a good challenge. After 10 years at Templeton Investment Management he took on the task of reviving Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, Lloyds TSB's languishing Edinburgh-based investment business in November 2000.

Argentina has over half a million creditors, while Iraq has comparatively few. But dealing with $100 billion of Iraq's debt has given everyone from the IMF to the Paris Club a tough problem to resolve. The US government will urge generosity but a happy solution for all interested parties is next to impossible.

CEE private equity, after a tough period that saw many funds go out of business, is enjoying a surge in activity, thanks to access to leveraged finance. Some funds are making big returns. Others, however, are still struggling.

First Wit dumped its attempt to build a retail platform. Next, it dumped its name, and moved out of its Silicon Alley headquarters in New York to Connecticut. Then last year Charles Schwab Capital Markets bought it. At least Wit, by then Soundview, the name of the boutique it bought in 1999, was joining a like-minded firm with ambitions to change how markets work.

Central bankers have been the financial market heroes of the past two decades, for asserting independence from profligate politicians, conquering inflation and resolving financial crises not of their own making. But they have managed themselves out of a job. And what lies ahead for the next generation is frustration and loss of influence.

If your competitors are beating you to the most lucrative deals, it could be they're better at pressing the flesh. Wooing potential clients over drinks or dinner is as much a part of a banker's job as making formal pitches.

In 20 months as governor, Alfonso Prat-Gay built a credible central bank from almost nothing, managed the money supply brilliantly, oversaw currency stability, kept rates low and even began whipping the banking sector into shape. For these achievements, he is Euromoney's central bank governor of the year. But he also strove for greater independence for the central bank. Now, on the eve of the country's crucial bond exchange, president Nestor Kirchner has chosen to dispense with Argentina's most internationally respected policymaker.