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Zambia's economy remains as dependent as ever on copper, and there is no immediate prospect that the current depressed price of this commodity will improve. Zambia also desperately needs currency stability. The kwacha has fallen by more than 70% against the dollar in the past two years and interest rates are over 30%. Helen Henton reports

With the evolution of risk management, we're learning more about aggregation, liquidity risk, and pairing assets with liabilities. Result: banks will de-lever; mutual funds will take on more credit and insurance risk, writes Robert Gumerlock

Over 200 clients of Barclays trooped out to see the US premiere of Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant's film Notting Hill., an event sponsored by the UK bank.

Thirty years ago, US withholding-tax regulations kick-started the Eurodollar market which Euromoney was founded to report on. And today, withholding-tax regulation is again a hot topic in the international bond markets. Although the European Central Bank (ECB) has refused to comment publicly on the recent furore over savings tax harmonization, saying it is purely a matter for the European Commission, it is understood that senior ECB figures are in favour of harmonizing withholding taxes throughout Europe. This would involve the introduction of a withholding tax to be enforced in London. The ECB's motivation to support such regulation could be said to be the same as that behind its determination to restrict the access of UK institutions to the European cross-border payment system, Target. The bank is believed to be extremely uncomfortable with the idea of having the principal money market for its new currency located outside the eurozone, fearing that this would compromise the ability of the ECB to conduct monetary policy.

HSBC faces a bizarre lawsuit over the rebranding of subsidiaries. With 80% of the new HSBC signs already up in the UK outside former Midland branches, a rival financial institution, HFC Bank, has begun litigation against HSBC claiming it is damaging its franchise and stealing its hard-earned brand name.