Search results for

Next month marks the biggest change to London's stock market since Big Bang of 1986. On October 20 the London Stock Exchange (LSE) will replace its current quote-driven system of market-makers with an electronic order book - initially for the market's top 100 shares and later, perhaps, for the whole market. This innovation, accompanied by a number of other changes to trading practices and regulations, will have a major impact on both the liquidity and transparency of the stock market, But it may, inadvertently, erode the LSE's virtual monopoly on securities trading in the UK.

A special report prepared by the Budapest Stock Exchange.

Belt-tightening is not easy, particularly when the belt is an imported fine leather one with a high-priced Louis Vuitton label. As the IMF urges financial self-control, Thailand's elite are finding the austerity package hard to swallow.

International investors this summer gained their best chance yet to invest in Transcaucasia, the region of the CIS separating Russia and the Middle East, with the start of voucher privatization in Azerbaijan. The country's programme is more open to foreign investment than almost any other in the CIS and lets investors take exposure to an economy that is growing at more than 5% a year.

The new government has made a promising start, introducing reforms to free up and restructure the economy. Two important privatizations may provide proof of its commitment to change. By Gavin Gray.

Foreign banks looking to diversify in international markets have pinpointed Latin America as the new growth area. But whereas in the past they largely confined themselves to investment banking and elite customers they are now seeking to build broader retail operations, either through outright purchases of local banks or buying large stakes in them. Michelle Celarier reports on a race that has sent the prices of even the shakier institutions to surprising levels.

How can Russia's small and underfunded equity brokers break into the more lucrative areas of investment banking? By joining forces with foreign institutions, according to the conventional wisdom. But one local broker may have found a different way to turn itself into a major player. In mid-August, details emerged of a deal that brings together Russia's largest securities broker, Troika-Dialog, and the city of Moscow, likely to be one of the country's major sources of financing business over the next few years. The Bank of Moscow, in which the city of Moscow holds a majority stake, will form a strategic alliance with Troika-Dialog. After completion of a share purchase for an undisclosed sum, Bank of Moscow will own 20% of Troika and Andrei Borodine, the Bank of Moscow president, will have a seat on its board of directors.

Even pension funds are showing an adventurous streak and investing in Russian equity. A tremendous inflow of foreign capital and an increasing foreign ADR market has made Russia the world's best performer so far this year and left some fund-managers waiting for a correction.

The African Development Bank (ADB) gets full marks for its efforts to reform and modernize its operations in what is arguably one of the world's toughest banking environments.

In the old days, regulators set the rules and bankers followed them. Now, the Group of Thirty wants to create voluntary standards for global risk management. Some people applaud this experiment. But bankers who Oppose it have been biting their tongues. James Smalhout reports.

Emerging market governments may be keen to attract foreign equity investment, but, as foreign investors in Russia are learning, the lack of legal protection threatens to stop such investment in its tracks. By Christopher Stoakes.

Winning the China game