Search results for

Despite nearly breaking up soon after independence, Moldova rapidly established a good reputation with international lenders and investors. It wasn't to last. Worse was to come: not least a stalled privatization programme, an agricultural slump and serious payment problems for energy purchases from Russia. Gavin Gray reports on the attempt to put things together again.

Unless you are a strategic investor, it has never been easy to buy into a big Kazakh company. But that could soon change. The government plans to float its stakes in the cream of the country's industry. The success of this blue-chip privatization will hinge on investor sentiment towards emerging markets. So far, Kazakhstan has weathered the storm from Asia better than other countries in the former Soviet Union. Gavin Gray reports

Hungary's central bank president took the view that the government had to invest heavily in putting the banking system in good shape as a prelude to a root-and-branch privatization that did not obstruct foreign participation. As Nigel Dudley reports, foreign strategic investors are already bringing greater efficiency

What country would be desperate enough to issue a Eurobond with a yield of more than 16%? Ukraine, reports Suzanne Miller, is a country becoming truly desperate. Investor confidence is collapsing, reforms are paralyzed and a liquidity crunch looms.

Last month, Kendrick Wilson, a vice-chairman of Lazard Freres in New York and one of the firm's most senior bankers, left to join Goldman Sachs. Goldman now boasts the strongest line-up of all financial-institutions groups in the US. Wilson, and Goldman's head of FIG, Christopher Flowers, are the two biggest names in the M&A advisory business. Wilson worked on several of last year's tie-ups between commercial and investment banks and was also involved behind the scenes in one of the biggest deals that got away, representing American Express in talks with Citicorp

Business travel poll 1998: A hard landing in Asia

Issuers: Pub chains

A corruption scandal at the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has provided an excuse to install a new team, and to pave the way for a more truly independent central bank. But will it all work out? The institution's image has suffered from the realization that commercial banks have been lavishing entertainment on all-powerful and seemingly unaccountable officials as a way of resolving business issues. An even bigger question mark hangs over the bank's independence from political interference in its interest-rate policy.

Australians, big exporters to Asia, are bracing themselves for economic trouble. But, as Ian Rogers reports, stock prices are still rising. Investors can't get enough of big new issues such as telecoms company Telstra.

After more than a decade of trying, convertible bonds have emerged as a genuine asset class in Europe. At the same time, a once-vibrant Asian market is in reverse. But in both markets there is evidence that participants are struggling to keep up with the sophistication of the product. An overly simplistic approach can be disastrous. By James Rutter.

Could this be Deutsche Bank's Michael Dobson trying to convince his fellow Vorstand members of his commitment to all things German?

Some feared the Luxor massacre would knock Egypt's economy off course, but it is proving resilient. Fiscal discipline, low inflation and privatization have made Egypt a regional success story. Jules Stewart reports on an economy finding its feet