April 2012

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 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 ...

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 ...

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 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 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 ...

SEA CHANGE   By Andrew Cunningham   Global Finance presents a half-year update to its annual ranking of The World’s Safest Banks.   The safest banks in the world are still European banks, despite the crisis in the eurozone, but ...

EMERGING MARKETS INVESTOR: DR NEWS   By Gordon Platt   Russia made a number of major changes in its securities legislation that will affect depositary receipt programs for shares of Russian issuers, according to law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf. Some of ...

EMERGING MARKETS INVESTOR: NEWS   By Gordon Platt   Monetary and fiscal policies in China will ease further to support investment in infrastructure, public housing and water resource projects, says HSBC.   In addition, Beijing should and will likely deregulate sectors, ...

SOUTH AFRICAN MINING TO GET VENTURE CAPITAL INCENTIVES   By Antonio Guerrero   South African finance minister Pravin Gordhan will grant a major venture capital incentive for SME mining companies.   South Africa: Investing in small mining operations South African finance ...

ENVIRONMENTAL FUNDING GETS THE GREEN LIGHT   By Antonio Guerrero   The Brazilian government will invest $35.4 billion to increase sugar cane production for the booming ethanol industry.   Bumper crop: Brazil ramps up cane field production The Brazilian government has ...

STABILITY, NOT REFORM, IS LIKELY ON THE MENU   By Thomas Clouse   Premier Wen Jiabao lowers the annual growth target to 7.5% and promotes social services and wage growth.   In his final opening address to China’s annual congress, premier ...

PRIVATIZATION PROGRAM FAILS TO MEET TARGETS   By Aaron Chaze   The Indian government pushed to meet targeted privatizations for the 2011–2012 fiscal year.   Powering up India’s thermal power plants The Indian government gave a final—and less-than-successful—push to meet ...

TOUGH TIMES AHEAD FOR YEMEN’S NEW PRESIDENT   By Gordon Platt   Yemen's new president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, the former vice president, won a one-man election to a two-year term.   A head for heights: Dubai’s Burj Khalifa Photo Credit: RAHHAL/ ...

PUTIN PROMISES GREATER SPENDING, PONDERS TAX HIKES   By Kim Iskyan   PM Putin won the presidential elections on March 4 with 64% of the vote, despite widespread claims of voter fraud.   Taxing times for Putin Photo Credit: RAGNE KABANOVA ...

BRAZILIAN MALL OPERATOR RINGS UP SALES GAIN   By Gordon Platt   Brazil’s retail sales rose more than expected in December—climbing 6.7% from a year earlier and suggesting that domestic consumption will remain strong despite global market conditions.   BR Malls, ...

FOSTERING GROWTH By Alberto Riva   Global Finance sat down with economist Dean Baker, co-director and co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC, and author of several books, including The End of Loser Liberalism: Making ...

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR   As one drives into Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital, on King Khalid International Airport Road, a symbol of change appears suddenly through the window after miles of desert. It is the enormous campus of ...

FAITH IN THE DOLLAR PEG   By Gordon Platt   Global Finance sits down with Qatar’s central bank governor, sheikh Abdullah Bin Saud Al-Thani. The pegged-exchange-rate regime is working well, according to Al-Thani, and the resilient financial sector will help ...

EASING THE BURDEN   By Gordon Platt   Dubai has some way to go before its debt profile is viewed as safe and sound, but it has already made great strides.   The Dubai debt crisis shocked the world in ...

SHIFTING SANDS   By Gordon Platt   Extraordinary changes are occurring in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprisings. New economic models—and new opportunities for foreign investors—are developing. But the potential for great reward comes with ...

ABUNDANT FLOWS   By Gordon Platt   The oil and gas sector is leading an investment explosion in the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.   Photo Credit: PAUL COWAN / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM Led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the ...

THE LEVANT BANKS ON STABILITY   By Gordon Platt   Caution and conservative growth are the key goals of Levantine economies.   The resource-poor countries of the Levant have been trying to promote open markets, free trade and labor mobility ...

MILESTONES: GLOBAL   By Paula Green   Would the global economic crisis have been so severe if cooperative banks—which create value for their members as they achieve profits—ruled the financial world?   And would the European Union and many of their banks ...

MILESTONES: SRI LANKA   By Kim Iskyan   After months of conjecture, Sri Lanka’s central bank announced on February 9 that it would no longer defend the rupee at a particular level—in effect, allowing it to float.   The move spooked investors, ...

MILESTONES: EUROPE By Anita Hawser With the European Central Bank temporarily suspending the use of Greek bonds as collateral in return for loans (repurchase, or repo, agreements) and regulators forcing market participants to back more of their exposures with assets, ...

MILESTONES: MONGOLIA   By Thomas Clouse   Mongolia’s economy grew at a record-setting pace in 2011, bringing optimism for improved living standards—and concerns about overheating.   In February the World Bank cited 2011 GDP growth at 17.3%, up from 6.4% in 2010. ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: CORPORATE DEBT   By Gordon Platt   Issuance of high-grade US corporate bonds soared to $99 billion in February.   Issuance of high-grade corporate bonds in the US market soared to a monthly record high of $99 billion ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: GLOBAL EQUITY / DRS   By Gordon Platt   Facebook prepares for its initial public offering that it hopes could raise $10 billion.   Facebook added 25 new underwriters to its original group of six, as it ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: FOREIGN EXCHANGE   By Gordon Platt   The foreign exchange market continues to be rattled by Europe's debt crisis, analysts say the issue is far from settled.   The foreign exchange market continues to be rattled by ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS   By Gordon Platt   More than 2,600 mergers and acquisitions worth $149 billion were announced in the global mining industry last year.   They represented an increase of 33% from 2010, making 2011 the ...

NEWSMAKERS: UNITED STATES   By Gordon Platt   Kenneth Feinberg, the Boston-bred lawyer who oversaw the process of paying out billions of dollars to victims of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, was relieved of his duties last month, ...

NEWSMAKERS: ICELAND   By Luca Ventura   As his trial commenced in March in Reykjavik, Geir Haarde, the former prime minister of Iceland, was the first world leader to face criminal charges over the 2008 financial crisis. Haarde, 60, could serve up ...

NEWSMAKERS: GLOBAL   By Luca Ventura   When Robert Zoellick announced in February that he would leave the World Bank in June, at the expiration of his five-year term as president, initial speculation over his possible successor revolved around the usual ...

NEWSMAKERS: EUROPE   By Valentina Pasquali   In the European Union, women comprise 60% of university graduates but only about 12% of corporate board members.   Reding: Tackling red-hot issues such as gender parity The European Commission has decided to take action ...

CUSTODY AND INVESTORS' SERVICES: SPONSORED BUYER'S GUIDE   BNP PARIBAS SECURITIES SERVICES     CUSTODY ASSETS: 2011: $5,854 billion (December 2011) 2010: $6,205 billion RATINGS: Moody's: Aa3; S&P: AA-; Fitch: A+   CLIENT PROFILE: By location: Our network is one ...

COMPETITION, REGULATION AND TECHNOLOGY   Moderated By Joseph D. Giarraputo   At a roundtable in London, Global Finance brought together key figures in the subcustody industry to discuss how they are responding to the many challenges posed by the eurozone ...