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A special report prepared by BBV.

There's a good chance the next UK government will be left-of-centre Labour, whose previous terms of office have usually ended in inflation and currency crisis. Soft-spoken Labour politicians can't allay fears - among foreign investors and City practitioners - that a change of government will trigger a market correction and more controls on the financial sector. The reason for the fears: new-look Labour's overtures to private capital are vague and non-committal. Even Labour supporters are saying it's time to put flesh on the bones. By David Shirreff

A special report prepared by Credit Suisse.

"You want to make sure your leads are awake, sweating at night, and we knew they would be." This was how Mark Cutis, treasurer of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) justified picking a decidedly odd couple of banks to launch its benchmark foray into five-year Deutschmarks, its first benchmark for two years. By Steve Irvine.

Go Johnny go go go, Not Liars' poker, I mandate you in the name of the law, Japan's bulletproof bankers wear blazers, MTN stars ain't cheap, Chase's Indiana Lynch.

A special report prepared by Societe Generale.

A bid so finely priced as to put profits in doubt, a smouldering argument over 500 years of iron ore reserves, the lack of a new story to tell investors - these are the problems Merrill Lynch faces after winning the mandate to privatize Companhia Vale de Rio Doce. Competitors that failed to secure the contract say they are sleeping better now it has gone to someone else. Brian Caplen reports.

So much rests on the success of the Dm15 billion share issue for Deutsche Telekom, scheduled for November - not least the credibility of Frankfurt as a financial centre. But the odds are stacking up against a trouble-free issue. There's discontent in the top-heavy syndicate, the anti-trust measures under which Telekom will operate are still not clear, the German economy looks shaky and there are no plans to sweeten retail investors. Laura Covill reports.

Competition is driving down the fees banks charge for running privatization issues. Last year's 3% is heading below 2%. Top firms argue that skimping on fees damages issue quality and, especially, after-sales service. But the same firms are cutting their charges to stay in the game. Peter Lee reports.

At the end of last year, world privatization seemed to be out for the count. Disgruntled investors, fed up with buying too many issues that bombed, swore they'd never touch privatizations again. Now government privatization teams, armed with more realistic pricing and some innovative ideas to attract retail investors, are back up and fighting. Could this be the time to buy? By Garry Evans.

Institutional investors loved privatization in the 1980s when the UK government sold off sleepily run companies with undervalued assets such as Cable & Wireless and Associated British Ports. They are less interested in highly regulated utilities with heavy long-term investment plans - all that's on offer these days. As the government struggles to whip up enthusiasm for this year's disposal candidates, Railtrack and British Energy, Jonathan Ford looks at the end of the City's love affair with privatization.

The enormous enthusiasm international investment bankers showed when China began floating state-owned companies in 1993 has cooled markedly. The poor market performance of the early issuers has slowed the flow of new ones. But signs are that the Chinese authorities are adopting a more realistic approach to attract back foreign investors. Sophie Röell reports.