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"We don't like the word 'war', we prefer to call it 'competition'," says Jörg Franke, board member of Deutsche Börse, the holding company for the German futures exchange (Deutsche Terminbörse - DTB). He's referring to a belligerent comment back in March by Liffe chairman Daniel Hodson about the rivalry between the London financial futures exchange and its German counterpart.

Emu will revolutionize European bond markets. New sectors will emerge - high-yield bonds, for instance - and the whole structure of credit ratings will need to be reconsidered. By Randy Sandstrom.

In a year when the Dow and the S&P are both up more than 24% by mid-July and the Nasdaq Composite rose 31% in the second quarter alone, it's not difficult for a US fund manager to post impressive returns.

Next time your lawyer puts the deal on hold, refrain from calling him uncommercial. By Christopher Stoakes.

It's the political wranglings over Emu that hit the headlines, but behind the scenes capital markets are rapidly preparing for the advent of the euro. After 1999, euro-denominated securities markets seem set for explosive growth. By Graham Bishop.

Issuer: State of New Jersey

The fun has begun. Bayerische Vereinsbank and Bayerische Hypobank announced a "merger of equals" on July 21. They broke the log jam that has been stalling jumbo deals in Germany. The speculation that Allianz might push Dresdner Bank and Hypobank together is over, at least for the time being. The focus now is on a possible fusion of the two Frankfurt giants, Dresdner and Commerzbank, although much depends on the personal chemistry at the top.

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.

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?

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.

In an interview with Euromoney, Bundesbank vice-president Johann Wilhelm Gaddum outlined the Bundesbank's thoughts on maintaining influence after Emu and touches on the gold revaluation issue. Here are some of his main points: