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The aborted merger of two Gulf banks is a blow to regional consolidation, but it is only delaying the inevitable, as financial markets open up to foreign competition reports Nigel Dudley

Proposals from Basel to reform the bank capital adequacy framework have triggered a wide-reaching debate on the nature of bank capital, liquidity and valuation. A hasty conclusion could waste some valuable new thinking.

The Cobra is Hansgeorg Hofmann, former Merrill and Lehman syndicate chief, former board member of Dresdner Bank, who disappeared from view in December 1997 after a debacle about his tax returns.

The high-tech stock market mania has come to a screeching halt. The US Nasdaq index is now down 20% from its highs. Does this herald the beginning of a huge secular meltdown in stocks around the world? I think not. On the contrary, it marks a healthy reallocation of capital away from companies of the "new" economy towards the "old". The major argument against this optimistic view is that the new cyber economy will destroy us all by creating competition so great that prices will collapse faster than costs. Then whole swathes of the traditional economy will be wiped out, as capital structures collapse.

Euromoney FX poll 2000: Deutsche topples Citi

What is JP Morgan up to in Asia? When the US commercial-turned investment bank announced it was hiring a raft of equities research and sales people from Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, all the talk was of this further proof of DrKB's demise. But what of Morgan?

As a major figure on the Russian political scene since communism fell, Anatoly Chubais could be expected to play a leading role in the new government of Vladimir Putin. Chubais backed Putin for the presidency and a call to arms could be on the cards.

Issuer: Barclays BankAmount: e850 millionType of issue: tier-one Reserve Capital InstrumentsLaunched: April 12Book runner: Barclays Capital

One banker described Hanvit Bank as an "ambassador for Korea" after the successful raising of $850 million through a subordinated debt deal in February. As it turns out, Hanvit may be the ambassador for the entire region as international investors show new interest in the potential of the Asian markets.

Once branded the internet dullard, Merrill Lynch is on the offensive. More than a decade after the brokerage firm bought a bank in Utah, it’s launching a nationwide retail banking operation, based on the internet, and paying money-market rates on insured deposits. That, and its plans for a banking and investment-services joint-venture with HSBC, may take its head off the merger block. Antony Currie reports

Most financial institutions see the internet as the future for distribution and trading of financial products, mostly for retail. But web-based products are being developed to provide a competitive advantage in far more complex businesses. The entire landscape of the wholesale financial services industry is set to change as a result.

Malaysia seems to have recovered better from the Asian crisis than some other countries in the region, not least because of the currency control policies that were introduced. Confidence was shaken a little last month by the volatility in US markets, but the fundamentals still appear to be sound.