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Before the internet was heard of, Instinet, the 31-year old agency broker owned by Reuters, used new technology to challenge the world's mainstream stock exchanges. Now suddenly, it is being cast as the dinosaur. New electronic commission networks springing up in the US equity market threaten to eat its lunch. Instinet chief executive Doug Atkin tells Antony Currie how Instinet intends to thrive amid the electronic trading revolution

Citigroup's latest acquisition

The dollar and the Dow have dived. Serious imbalances in the US economy are now evident. The current account deficit is nearing unfinanceable proportions. The US economy could only grow at an above-average, yet disinflationary, pace while the rest of the world remained stagnant. That's no longer the case. Global growth is accelerating. So the dollar is no longer the currency of choice. And a weak dollar is synonymous with rising commodity prices and resurgent inflation. And it's not just the US economy and financial markets that are becoming paralysed. I reckon 2000 will be a year of US foreign economic policy paralysis. At its heart lies the presidential campaign. The impact on international relations could be severe. Those with Russia are already becoming strained. A deal on Chinese World Trade Organization accession may be missed, undermining Zhu Rongji and China's reformists. Trade tensions with the EU will escalate. And no action will be taken to support the dollar.

Joining the Wall Street party

Deutsche Bank wanted to buy it because it wanted a bigger presence in investment banking in the US. Merrill Lynch considered putting in an offer because it wanted to improve its coverage of the technology sector. But Chase Manhattan is the bank that finally secured the 30-year-old California-based investment-banking boutique Hambrecht & Quist. And this time, the rumour mill has it, it's because Chase needs it as a way into equities. Antony Currie reckons that's not the case

Trading on indigestion

Privatization is still keeping lawyers busy the world over - and benefiting from the vital contribution they have to make. By Christopher Stoakes

A new breed of deal-makers

Jürgen Karcher, Managing director and country head of fixed income, Germany, Salomon Smith Barney

Even after a wave of mergers and takeovers there are still 7,000 banks in the US. No-one doubts that consolidation is the way to go but the fate of recently merged banks suggests that it has to be based on something more substantial than cost-cutting. The emergence of e-commerce hammers home the point that revenue growth is still crucial. Antony Currie reports.

They may be a decade late, but Japan's banks are finally restructuring. The headline deals will create the world's two largest banks. An exclusive interview with Masao Nishimura, president of IBJ and a prime mover in the recent combination of IBJ with Fuji Bank and DKB, gives an insight into the thinking of Japan's financial elite. But, as Simon Brady reports, bad debts, low profitability and economic malaise will prevent even these new giants from becoming world leaders.

Want to buy a bank stacked full of bad loans and losing money? The Czech Republic may be able to oblige. While the second-largest, Ceska Sporitelna, looks like going to Austria's Erste Bank, the biggest, Komercni Banka, is still up for grabs. Finally, after years of dithering and excuses, bank privatization is now happening. But the assets are worth much less since the banks ran into serious trouble. Czech government problems don't stop there. Many companies the banks lent to are floundering, capital markets are still in their infancy and the legal framework falls short. The Czech Republic is a case study of how not to handle transition. Brian Caplen reports.