Search results for

Core European growth is picking up. Late last year, I said growth disappointments would make the "Emu on time" outlook seem less probable by early 1997. Consumer spending would disappoint because of Maastricht masochism and the fiscal squeeze, and because of job losses and labour market deregulation.

The fear and loathing generated by Krupp's attempted takeover of Thyssen, a rival German steel company, has not only thwarted that particular deal but also put back the entire German M&A business by several years.

Red-chip mania in Hong Kong reached new heights last month with the listing of Shum Yip Investment, the commercial investment arm of the Shenzhen municipal government.

If the EU's single currency begins on schedule in 1999, further breaking down national boundaries, France's capital markets will be a major contender for a central role, squaring up to Germany in the fight for benchmark status. And what if Emu is postponed? Katrin Fhima reports.

Attempts to establish standard terms and codes of practice for the trading of distressed corporate debt have been spurned so far by the London market. Buyers of loans who don't read the fine print can find themselves with unexpected legal obligations. By Christopher Stoakes.

In the time perspective of the bond markets, the European single currency is tomorrow, not some 20 months away. Issuers need to attract investors from a wider universe now. One approach is complex instruments that can eventually take on a euro denomination; another takes the plunge into a currency that doesn't yet exist. On the corporate front credit rather than currency is set to be the key determinant of performance. And that means European fund managers are likely to take an increasing interest in high-yield bonds. Peter Lee reports.

In an age of specialism corporate spin-offs have an inherent strategic logic. But they are also a potent way of unlocking equity value. Antony Currie reports on the spread of the technique from the US into increasingly equity conscious continental Europe.

Saying goodbye can be hard. But for globally focused Dan Tully it took the form of a world tour. The outgoing chairman and chief executive of Merrill Lynch went to New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo and London to meet clients and employees before his retirement this month.

"I was 100% an old-timer at Deutsche," says Roman Schmidt. So it surprised everyone when DMG's Frankfurt debt syndicate head announced his departure from the Deutsche twin towers to join BZW.

Issuer: Abbey National

At least two years after the UK and most other good European states, Germany may finally implement two EU directives that are vital to safer, fairer and more harmonious European finance. Who has gained and who has lost from the delay? David Shirreff reports.

It was a fierce contest between rival investment banks with only one winner and no room for the faint-hearted. It wasn't the battle to win the mandate for the next big Eurobond, but the Synergy City Ski-Run in aid of the British Ski Club for the Disabled.