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Richard Wood's agreeable daily commute consists of a stroll across Prague's St Charles Bridge while he looks at the castle and swans and thinks about what he has to do that day. "It beats the tube," he says.

The competition in Asia from US investment banks has led to new approaches and ideas in equity research. But the old problems remain. Corporate sensitivity makes most analysts reluctant to stick their necks out. And the increased competition has led to star analysts moving to whichever firm will pay them most. Robert Minto reports.

Austria's futures and options exchange has stolen a march on its larger international competitors with a booming trade in eastern European equity derivatives. Hopes are high for the latest offering, a Polish index product. By TJ Kim.

When, in the autumn of 2002, president Chirac tried to renegotiate the Maastricht Treaty, the future of the euro began to look shaky. Then the big hedge funds moved in for the kill and monetary union had little chance of survival. David Lascelles writes the history book in advance.

As the tobacco industry and the US government inched towards finalizing their historic $368.5 billion settlement on tobacco-related health claims, the news for the powerful industry was none too good. President Bill Clinton criticized the deal for undercutting the Food & Drug Administration's regulatory authority over tobacco. Joe Camel, the cartoon character that became a symbol of teenage nicotine addiction in the US, was relegated to marketing history by maker RJ Reynolds. And there was growing congressional criticism of the settlement's proposal to make the payments tax-deductible, which the White House said would rip a hole in the federal budget. Any deal must ultimately be approved by congress, and signed by the president, which is not expected until next year.

A potential powerhouse player entered Moscow's brokerage market with the creation last month of Brunswick Warburg, a 50:50 joint venture between SBC Warburg and Brunswick Investment, one of the country's leading independent brokers. The venture could be the first of many, with JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch all expected soon to develop Russian operations. Indeed, the changing nature of the Russian market has led some to speculate that no small, independent Russian broker will survive until the end of the decade unless it forms an alliance with a deep-pocketed foreign partner. Moscow has been described as one of the most over-brokered cities in the world, with more than 200 licensed firms chasing a reported daily equity turnover of less than $100 million.

Aside from the odd foray into the yen market, Fannie Mae has always been a devout US dollar issuer. But, since the start of 1997, something has changed. Of the 11 international bonds the US agency has issued this year, only three have been in its home currency. Does this signal a definite shift in Fannie Mae's borrowing strategy?

"I hate fancy-dress parties," says Henry Strutt, the 43-year-old chairman and chief executive of Jardine Fleming. "But I'm made to go by my wife. When I get there I usually have a good time." He was most recently seen partying in a 1960s hippy outfit, complete with false beard and strapped-on padded stomach. Fellow partygoers thought he looked like Benny Hill, a British slapstick comedian.

How important to SBC Warburg is the bank's chief operating officer, the young and mysterious David Solo? Some insiders at the bank say it is the shy Solo who, at 32, is masterminding SBC Warburg's strategy to become the world's best investment bank.

The deal was so full of firsts that the borrower's name could not have been more appropriate. It was the first time the IFC had set up a US commercial paper programme for a client, the first private Thai company to tap that market and the first time IFC had syndicated a letter of credit. Capping that, the deal was the largest financing it had ever arranged for a financial institution, the World Bank's commercial arm trumpeted in March 1995.

Many banks have been forced out of Euro-commercial paper recently. With margins thin, large volumes are a prerequisite of profit. The prospect of European monetary union has, however, led to rapid market growth. This year SBC Warburg managed to raise market share to 27% of total outstandings. SBC Warburg attributes much of its success to the use of electronic trading in its spot and forward foreign exchange operations, which in turn has enhanced its capabilities in synthetic Euro-commercial paper.

Awards for Excellence 1997