Global news and insight for corporate financial professionals
MILESTONES By Michael Shari A fissure is opening in the bulwarks of Western sanctions that have isolated Iran from the global banking system since the early 1980s. In an interim deal signed in November in Geneva, Iran agreed to curb ...
American and foreign manufacturers alike are investing billions of dollars all across the United States, as the world’s most competitive economy shows tantalizing signs of recovery. Rising labor costs in other parts of the world means reshoring is gathering pace.
A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION By Michael Shari Global Finance hosted a delegation of Turkish business and economic representatives for its Global Salon this month, engendering a lively discussion on growth and investment, the economy and Turkey’s efforts to qualify ...
ASIAN SOPHISTICATES By Michael Shari Do Asian private banks have the complexity to outshine their Swiss counterparts and attract the vast private wealth reserves growing in the East? After a formal apology by the Swiss Bankers Association for “wrong conduct” ...
TECHNOLOGY IS THE TRUMP CARD By Jonathan Gregson, Antonio Guerrero, Anita Hawser, Gordon Platt and Michael Shari Global Finance unveils its annual list of the best banks globally, regionally and by country. The winners have all demonstrated dedication ...
SUNSET, OR A NEW SUNRISE? By Michael Shari Brazil faces a monumental challenge in meeting the expectations of its citizens, corporations and global investors over the next several years, as the nation invests heavily to host the World Cup and ...
SECTOR WINNERS By Michael Shari SECTOR WINNERS Consumer Citi Financial Institutions Citi Healthcare Piper Jaffray Industrials/Chemicals Jefferies Infrastructure China Construction Bank Corp Media/Entertainment J.P. Morgan Metals & Mining BMO Capital Markets Oil & Gas Goldman Sachs Power Morgan ...
COUNTRY WINNERS By Michael Shari COUNTRY WINNERS NORTH AMERICA Canada BMO Capital Markets US J.P. Morgan LATIN AMERICA Argentina Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires Brazil Itaú BBA Chile Banco de Chile Colombia Bancolombia ...
GLOBAL WINNERS By Michael Shari GLOBAL WINNERS Best Investment Bank J.P. Morgan Best in Emerging Markets Bank of America Merrill Lynch Best in Frontier Markets Qatar National Bank Best Equity Bank Morgan Stanley Best Debt Bank Bank of ...
DEALS OF THE YEAE By Michael Shari DEALS OF THE YEAR Best Equity Deal US Treasury/American International Group (AIG) $20.7 billion follow-on offering, September 2012. Bookrunners Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, ...
BEST LEGAL ADVISERS By Michael Shari BEST LEGAL ADVISERS Global Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom North America Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Latin America Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Western Europe Freshfields CEE Cleary Gottlieb Steen ...
REGIONAL WINNERS By Michael Shari REGIONAL WINNERS NORTH AMERICA Best Investment Bank J.P. Morgan Best Equity Bank Morgan Stanley Best Debt Bank J.P. Morgan Best M&A Bank Goldman Sachs LATIN AMERICA Best Investment Bank ...
A SECTOR IN TRANSITION By Michael Shari Global investment banks spent the past year adjusting to the new reality of highly regulated markets and below-historical rates of return. Last year was one of evolution for the world’s ...
ADAPT TO SURVIVE By Michael Shari A unique banking system long revered as a safe haven for the world’s tax dodgers now faces gut-wrenching transformation in order to endure. For centuries Swiss banks have thrived on absolute ...
WILD SEASON By Michael Shari Volatile commodities prices are poised to drive an M&A wave and are already changing how companies hedge against price swings. A storm is brewing in the global commodities markets. Perceptions of global ...
BANKS FOLLOW THE MIGRANT MONEY TRAIL By Michael Shari Banks in emerging markets are building a lucrative business on remittances sent home by workers in developed nations. Alberto Raúl Guerra Rodríguez has had his hands full for ...
MILESTONES: IRAN By Michael Shari The collapse of Iran’s currency, the rial, has cut so deeply into the credibility of Iran’s government that it’s inching closer to regime change than it has been since a popular uprising deposed ...
CROSSING ASIA'S FRONTIERS By Michael Shari As banks and regional hubs throw their weight behind Islamic finance, shariah-compliant products are crossing not just national borders but also product lines in Asia. Photo Credits: MANZRUSSAL I / Shutterstock.com ...
GRAVITATIONAL PULL By Michael Shari A British veteran of Merrill Lynch, Charles Beazley became chairman and CEO of Nikko Asset Management, which is majority owned by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust, in March. Headquartered in Tokyo, Nikko AM manages $158 billion ...
BREAKING BARRIERS By Michael Shari Yoshio Nakamura is the director general of Nippon Keidanren, the Japan Industry Federation—the main voice representing large industry in the country. Global Finance: What developments have most shaped Japan’s economy over the past ...
WILL JAPAN REGAIN ITS GREATNESS? By Michael Shari Business is trying to resurrect Asia's economic miracle a year and a half after the Tohoku tragedy. Tokyo is enjoying a long-deserved renaissance. Young professionals are converging from all ...
THE NEW OIL RUSH By Michael Shari As the US inches closer to its elusive goal of energy independence, the economic ripple effect promises to leave no region or industry of the world untouched. Few would argue ...
ASIA’S EL DORADO By Michael Shari Global Finance sat down with Alisher Ali, founder of the largest investment bank and asset management firm in Mongolia, to get his take on the world’s fastest-growing economy. Educated at Columbia ...
By Michael Shari REGIONAL AWARDS - NORTH AMERICA BEST INVESTMENT BANK Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs has built what KBW’s Cannon calls “the powerhouse brand” on Wall Street by constantly structuring complex deals that combine its three core businesses—equity, debt and ...
By Michael Shari GLOBAL AWARDS BEST INVESTMENT BANK Goldman Sachs In a year when success in investment banking was defined by survival, Goldman Sachs gained market share by devising extraordinarily creative solutions for its clients in raising capital across asset ...
By Michael Shari COUNTRY AWARDS - NORTH AMERICA CANADA BMO Capital Markets Thanks to its strength in mining and energy, BMO Capital Markets commanded a 20.1% share of Canada’s M&A market last year. That was more than any other bank, comprising ...
POLITICS AND THE SOVEREIGN RATING By Michael Shari The debate rages on as to whether recent sovereign downgrades were politically motivated, or whether the ratings agencies were simply slow to act on decisions made long before. Stakeholders worldwide are ...
By Michael Shari SECTOR AWARDS CONSUMER Citi Despite the fact that Citigroup’s overall market share was flat last year, it was the lead bookrunner of the largest equity capital market deal in the consumer sector by far. Citi raised $2 ...
By Michael Shari LEGAL ADVISERS GLOBAL Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Advising companies on 154 M&A deals worth $294.5 billion, Simpson was ranked number one by Thomson Reuters in 2011. It advised Petrohawk Energy on its $15.1 billion sale to BHP ...
ANNUAL SURVEY AND AWARDS— REDEFINING SUCCESS By Michael Shari Global investment banks and strong local banks make the list in our annual awards. For an investment bank, success has long been defined as staying true to one’s ...
By Michael Shari DEALS OF THE YEAR BEST EQUITY DEAL Glencore International $10.1 billion IPO Lead Manager: Citi Global Bookrunners: Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas In Europe’s largest IPO since 1999, Glencore International of ...
TURNING POINT By Michael Shari One of Africa's most vibrant economies is in the midst of a high-stakes political transition that will determine whether it continues on a path of reform or contends with the type of backlash that shook ...
ASIA'S BANKS ON THE WAY UP By Michael Shari Asian investment banks are starting to edge out their top-ranking American and European competitors as global investors take risk off the table in Asia. China International Capital Corp ...
NEWSMAKERS: MOROCCO By Michael Shari Minister until recently in the reigning government's cabinet in Morocco, Salaheddine Mezouar is now the official leader of the opposition party in the country's parliament. Making his vote count: As opposition leader, ...
MILESTONES: NIGERIA By Michael Shari The government of Nigeria took a calculated political risk when it removed gasoline subsidies on January 1. Paying at the pump: Nigeria ends gasoline subsidies The sudden move more than doubled local ...
COMMODITIES TEST THE BORDERS OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCE By Michael Shari Commodity producers are turning to specialized banks that are willing to take multiple layers of risk in private deals. Great ideas are born at times like these. ...
ANNUAL SURVEY AND AWARDS By Michael Shari Counterparty risk trumps pricing as criteria for picking derivative providers. Wall Street is retaking market share from European rivals Never underestimate the sleight of hand with which the fast-paced derivatives ...
GO WITH GOLD By Michael Shari Runaway gold prices are empowering mining companies to finance themselves—and forcing banks to innovate, providing opportunities for investors that are willing to take on more complex risk. Kinross Gold has sworn off ...
INNER GAZE By Michael Shari Global food and fuel inflation, undeveloped infrastructure and a correction in emerging markets are leading India to look inward. It’s not easy to keep a straight face in response to a banker’s ...
NEWSMAKERS: GLOBAL By Michael Shari Not since the reconstruction of Western Europe in the aftermath of World War II has an incoming managing director of the International Monetary Fund come under such tremendous pressure to prove that it ...
COVER STORY: MISSING PIECES By Michael Shari Corporations are adding up the costs—and looking at alternatives to increasingly expensive banking services. It would be hard to find a multinational corporation with a firmer grip on the intricacies ...
COVER STORY — RENMINBI RISING By Michael Shari Multinationals are positioning themselves to capture lucrative gains from the internationalization of China’s currency. When McDonald’s became the first non-Chinese corporation that was allowed to issue a bond denominated ...
FOCUS: INVESTMENT BANKING IN ASIA By Michael Shari Asia’s big banks are elbowing out their Western rivals as demand for financial services skyrockets in the region—and beyond. One of the great ironies lost in the panic of ...
COVER STORY: JAPAN By Michael Shari Although it inflicted unspeakable horrors upon an aging, hard-working population, Japan’s recent earthquake is breathing new life into a deflationary economy. The symbolism was lost on no one when ...
COVER STORY: THE NEW OIL SHOCK By Michael Shari Triggered by street battles in OPEC member states and exacerbated by news of radiation leaking from Japanese nuclear reactors, the oil shock threatens to derail the world’s economic recovery. ...
ANALYSIS: INTEREST-RATE AND EQUITY DERIVATIVES By Michael Shari Investors and corporations are revamping their derivatives strategies as they prepare for a resurgence of inflation. At the beginning of the year, investment bankers noticed that institutional investors, hedge ...
FOCUS: COMMODITY RISK By Michael Shari Renewed turmoil in Europe, supply shortages and the growing impact of financial investors are driving renewed demand for commodities hedging. For most of 2010, producers and consumers of many commodities had ...
ANNUAL SURVEY: A NEW STATUS QUO By Michael Shari The landscape of leading derivatives providers is being reshaped largely by a preference for low commissions and a newfound fear of having American banks as counterparties. It would ...
EM REGIONAL BANKING FOCUS: ASIA By Michael Shari A consistent focus on traditional-style banking has enabled Asia's financial giants to emerge from the recent crisis in fine fettle. On any given day at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, ...
NEWSMAKERS: GLOBAL By Michael Shari As finance ministers and top executives of the world's largest banks converge in Washington for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank this month, a simmering diplomatic conflict between ...