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The proposed merger between the Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is meant to reduce transaction costs and consolidate the fragmented European market for equities. This rather lopsided plan has to win the vote of all interested parties and many political obstacles stand in its way. Even if it falls through, the LSE is now in play and should make sure it sells out to the highest bidder.

On finding large gaps in its 1999 budget, the Italian treasury decided to deal with one notorious problem - delinquent social securities payments - in an unusual way, by simply selling them. It was a bold and intriguing deal and led to plenty of arguments among the banks that bid for it. But it produced a hefty cost saving for the Italian treasury.

Belize may be part of Central America, but it is a world away from Guatemala City, San Salvador or San José. The entire Atlantic coast of Central America, from Belize to the western tip of Panama, shares an English-speaking Caribbean culture that co-exists uneasily with the bulk of Spanish-speaking Central America.

Something has to give. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - America's colossal home mortgage securitizers - have been growing at about 11.5% per year. That's much faster than the market they serve: the underlying market for home mortgages in America is growing at only about 6% per year.

Eiichi Tanabe, acting general manager of Mitsubishi Corporation's finance department, declares that the trading company has not accessed the Eurobond markets since 1989 when it issued $1.5 billion of bonds with warrants. It is something of a trick answer - technically correct because the corporation itself has stayed away, but its London financial offshoot and other subsidiaries have remained active, with Mitsubishi Corporation Finance in London having a $12 billion programme of medium-term notes and Eurocommercial paper.

Brazil set out on a new course in 1999, both in the management of its economy and in its approach to the international capital markets. Concerns over the country's deficits provoked huge capital Xight and a currency devaluation last January. But Brazil did not tip over into crisis. President Fernando Enrique Cardoso, Wnance minister Pedro Malan and central bank governor Arminio Fraga have pushed through tough measures: cutting spending and increasing taxes so as to produce a primary (before debt service costs) public-sector surplus of 3% of GDP. This is the target for the next three years.

After issuing the largest dollar deal ($1 billion) in December 1998, Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA) delivered the largest euro-denominated corporate issue from the region in October 1999. It was another textbook deal.

Chilean telephone company Compania de Telecomunicaciones de Chile's (CTC) Wve-year e200 million bond deal last July was one of the brightest and most fought over deals to come out of Latin America in the past year. Mandates to bring Chile's leading telecom company to the market were hotly contested. They eventually went to Germany's Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Spain's BBV. The two bookrunners, helped along by JP Morgan and ABN Amro as joint leads, managed to bring the deal to market at incredibly tight margins.

When a number of Korean Wnancial institutions were looking to raise capital through a bond issue, Hanvit Bank beat them all. Then Hanvit dared to make its issue a two-tranche deal and raised $850 million.

When Argentina needed to raise money last year, it could not easily convince investors to buy its credit. Though usually it is one of the busiest Latin American borrowers, with annual funding needs of around $10 billion, investors were not well disposed towards emerging markets generally. And Argentina, already at a low Ba3/BB rating, faced further possible downgradings. It had been hit by a recession, high funding costs, and a presidential election to be held in October. To make matters worse, in June Peronist party candidate Eduardo Duhalde spoke of not repaying all of the country's debt. Though he quickly reassured investors that he did not mean that Argentina should default, a tremor of unease passed through the international bond markets.

Dan Case couldn't do it. Roddy Fleming couldn't do it. Even Neal Garonzik, long-time friend of Chase CEO William Harrison, couldn't do it. Through all the quiet discussions to buy a top investment bank and the change of tack last year to build through smaller acquisitions, vice-chairman Jimmy Lee remained king of Chase's investment banking heap.

The wisdom of spending $10 billion buying Latin America banks has not always been crystal clear to analysts but the results are starting to come through. In the first quarter, BSCH's Latin American banks earned nearly $200 million, 69% up on the first quarter of 1999, and roughly 40% of the total. By contrast Spanish retail banking managed a meagre 4% increase in profits.