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Edited by Brian Caplen

Ecuador's populist new president came to power on a wave of dissatisfaction with the status quo. He has already developed a reputation for eccentricity, not least for economic policies that threaten to alienate the international community. There is also worrying evidence of cronyism and an authoritarian approach to foreign investors. By Norman Peagam

1996 was not a good year for Thailand. Economic problems piled up as thick as Bangkok's legendary traffic and the pundits forecast a Mexico-style accident. But the Big Mango, as Thailand's capital city is known, did not go splat ­ thanks to skilful technocrats who steered the country to safety. It's early days but the worst could be over, reports Gill Baker

The pace of development of new derivative products may have slowed since the heady days of the early 1990s, not least because users are more aware of what they are buying and what it ought to cost. But new instruments are still catching on and specific geographical markets are adapting to special local needs. Andy Webb reports

Latin America has returned to the debt markets with a vengeance. The momentum might ease but next year still promises a large number of issues, reports David Pilling

Want to know who your boss will be in five years time? These are Euromoney's picks for the top 50 financial leaders aged 40 and under from around the world. They are already in key positions in leading organizations around the world, and their peers and mentors have marked them out for even greater things. Together they represent a broad church - some coming from financial families but proving their own worth, others making their way up from the bottom. We start with our top 10; the rest are split up according to geographical region.

Edited by Steven Irvine

The flotation of Deutsche Telekom was fenced by a thicket of regulations and employed more lawyers than syndicate staff. So how did Deutsche Morgan Grenfell get away with breaking so many of its own rules? And did the three global coordinators – DMG, Dresdner Bank and Goldman Sachs – allow themselves to be manipulated by a greedy issuer? None of this bodes well for Telekom 2. Laura Covill reports

Family businesses often fight shy of the exposure required by a stock exchange listing. Yet if family firms need fresh capital for growth or to meet the competition, a public offering needn't spell the end of family control. James Featherstone looks at the state of European private-company flotation and the investment strategies of 13 family-controlled businesses.

US banks still go through contortions to get round the crumbling Glass-Steagall Act, which limits their securities business. But action by the US Federal Reserve will reduce some of the balance-sheet gymnastics required. It will bring one dramatic step nearer the day when banks and securities firms might merge. Michelle Celarier reports

When one of Hong Kong's biggest conglomerates and NatWest Markets got together in 1994 they spoke of a partnership for the long haul. But just a year after Wheelock NatWest wrote its first trading ticket the joint venture has been dissolved amid vague excuses of regulatory difficulties. Just another case of NatWest screwing up in Asia? Or was Wheelock NatWest sacrificed as part of a new strategy in London? Steven Irvine reports