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The Indian stock markets fundamentally reassessed Indian information technology stocks last month. Jolted by a sharp fall in profit margins and a profit warning for the next fiscal year from Infosys, the bellwether for Indian IT companies, the stock sank. The market capitalization of Indian IT stocks has shrunk by over a third this year to Rs662.8 billion ($14 billion) on April 24, tipping the 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex to a six-month low. That is likely to lead to the postponement of an initial public offering by Tata Consultancy Services, the biggest exporter of Indian software services, which has been trying to list for over a year now.

The history of legislation on banking foundations in Italy is not a happy one. Successive governments have tried to stamp their mark, with the aim of eroding the foundations' power. This government is no different. Finance minister Giulio Tremonti has tried to wrest a bit more influence from them and next month, or perhaps the one after, could be the moment of truth. That's when the constitutional court will present its decision on whether the foundations must sell the shares they hold in banks. It isn't difficult to see why what these bodies do interests the government. Between them, the 89 foundations hold almost e40 billion in assets, including big stakes in Italy's banks. This ownership dates back to 1990, when the government decided to split savings banks into two in recognition of their different and sometimes conflicting functions. One body - the bank - became a joint-stock company responsible for financial operations. The other - the banking foundation - retained charitable status and a social role, maintaining cultural attractions and historical monuments for example.

For two months Hong Kong's 6.8 million residents have been at the centre of the Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak, better known across the border in mainland China as "strictly avoiding realistic statistics". But the crisis now seems driven more by fear and hysteria than actual risk of infection.

Investor demand for US

Not for the first time, Merrill Lynch is making a push into forex. While the competitors sit back and wait for it to fail, Merrill insists that it will become a top-ranking firm. Katie Astbury reports.

One key clause in Uruguay's proposed collective action clauses closes a loophole that Mexico left open in its own bonds: the question of whether the issuer could use exit consents on the payment terms of bonds with CACs. Exit consents, even on non-payment terms of bonds, are generally considered coercive and rather bad manners, even if a necessary evil for countries seeking to restructure their bonds.

In a period when panics have outweighed optimism among investors, the Sars epidemic is just the latest in a series of shocks that have cast doubt on Asian companies’ ADR prospects. • Chris Cockerill reports

Never let it be said that communists are out of touch with market reality - North Korea, sensing an opportunity to finance itself is to issue its first bond. Ruling party daily Rodong Sinmun says the bond issue "is an important measure to raise funds" to "crush US imperialists", a pitch that is sure to play well with investors.

Source: www.breakingviews.com is Europe's leading financial commentary service.

After Mexico came to market successfully with its collective action clauses (CACs), most observers reckoned that the IMF's plans for a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism (SDRM) would not be taken any further. The US Treasury in general, and undersecretary for international affairs John Taylor specifically, was known to be a zealous proponent of CACs, and now that the market had managed to adopt them there was no reason to threaten it with SDRM.

New technology is being developed to make hedge funds more transparent to investors. Risk management system provider Riskdata and Equalt, the alternative investment arm of Crédit Agricole Indosuez, are developing software to enable institutional clients to simulate the risk profile for different combinations of funds before they invest. They are working on an application for Riskdata's online risk management system. Initially it will enable investors to test how the Equalt fund would fit with their portfolios. "It's like opening a window on what we have on the book without disclosing actual positions," says Christophe Turpault, manager of Equalt's fixed-income arbitrage fund. This gives institutional investors more transparency about the risk of including funds in their portfolios. At the same time it allows the manager to protect the funds' positions.

UK brokers and fund managers are confronted bold new plans drawn up by regulator, the Financial Services Authority, to force them to separate trading and non-trading costs when they charge clients. Thomas Williams talks to Christina Sinclair, head of the FSA’s business standards department, about the proposals