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Ever felt that your local bank branch was a little dull? Are you spending time in the bank when you have other chores to do? Do banks make you feel hungry?

Latin America is an unlikely safe haven. But as Asia melts down, the region's new foreign invaders are thankful that they spent their billions there. The acquisitions should be good for the local markets too. Jules Stewart reports.

Hong Kong's economy sank into recession in the first quarter and those who argue for a devaluation of the Hong Kong dollar are starting to be taken more seriously. This worries outsiders, particularly the US, who believe that devaluation would cause a crisis of confidence in Hong Kong itself and would spark a fresh round of currency crises in the region. This in turn would damage the global economy.

Hotel Intercontinental Wien, Johannesgasse 28, Wien, Vienna, Austria

Awards of Excellence

Is it time for foreigners to cut their losses and get out of the Thai securities business, or is it a unique buying opportunity while business is depressed? As part of a global retreat from equities Barclays Capital has sold its 49% stake in Bangkok Securities only 18 months after purchase. But Merrill Lynch executives are excited about its new venture Merrill Lynch Phatra Securities which links it with one of the country's leading institutions, Thai Farmers Bank.

Issuer: Russian Federation

The savage drop in oil prices and a populist presidential candidate have given investors in Venezuela the jitters. But, as Bill Hieronymus reports, the scaremongering might just be going too far.

Awards of Excellence

When investment bankers turn to writing, few professional scribes lose sleep over the competition. A banker's motivation for putting pen to paper is often either ego or epitaph. Neither makes for a gripping read. A book by Bruce Wasserstein, co-founder of New York M&A boutique Wasserstein Perella, might therefore be expected to be met with scepticism.

A reserved young man in a business better known for exuberant individuality, Nicolas Rohatyn perfectly embodies the JP Morgan of the late 1990s.

June 17 1998 is a date that will stick in the mind of Bob Diamond for a while. Not because his speech, '"Give me credit baby", A European bank's perspective on the importance of credit research', went down so well at Euromoney's latest Global Borrowers and Investors Forum - though his was one of the wittier and more provocative offerings. No, the chief executive of Barclays Capital is more likely to remember his debut as a catwalk model at his firm's well-attended party at London's trendiest new hotel, the Hempel.