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Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

ANNUAL SURVEY: WORLD’S BEST BANKS 2014

In our 21st annual survey, Global Finance identifies the best banks in 150 countries and eight regions. The winners are not always the biggest banks, but rather, the best—those with the qualities that corporations should look for when choosing a bank.

Awards

BEST U.S. REGIONAL BANKS: 2014

Since the global financial crisis, US regional banks have taken market share in corporate banking away from the national money-center banks, which have dialed back on risk to rebuild their balance sheets.

Economics, Policy & Regulation

CANADA: NEW FINANCE MINISTER HAS BIG SHOES TO FILL

When, on March 18, longtime Canadian Finance minister Jim Flaherty unexpectedly announced his resignation, few were perhaps more surprised than his soon-to-be successor, Joe Oliver, the 73-year-old minister of Natural Resources.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

EUROPEAN CORPORATE CREDIT QUALITY IS ON THE RISE

Corporate credit-rating upgrades in the first quarter of 2014 outnumbered downgrades in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the first time since 2008, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The rating agency says positive credit trends in the EMEA region are likely to continue through 2014, despite potential negative events in Russia and Ukraine.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

SANCTIONS THREATEN RUSSIAN DEALS

Mergers and acquisitions involving Russian companies, including Morgan Stanley’s planned sale of its global oil-trading unit to Rosneft, are threatened by Western sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

SHARE BUYBACKS THE DARLING OF WALL STREET

Despite a pause in February, when the number of share purchase authorizations declined by 32% over the same period a year ago, share buybacks are still very popular on Wall Street.

Banking

US VS THE WORLD: ROUND ONE

The fight has just begun, as newly enacted Fed rules start to cramp long-accepted operating styles of global banks. The banks are weighing what to do about it—as are global policymakers.

Features

Real-time Payments in the US: Will It Take Two Years Or Ten Years ?

<span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">While US policymakers arecalling for a real-time payments system to be in place within a decade</span><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">, payments execs think it could be achieved in just two years.</span>

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Corporate Debt: Verizons Refi Redux

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS By Gordon Platt Verizon Communications, which sold $49 billion of debt last September in the largest bond sale ever, has returned to the bond market repeatedly this year to take advantage of low interest rates ...

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

US: Elon Musk Makes Power Play

NEWSMAKERS By Gilly Wright Dubbed by his supporters a gifted visionary, engineer and CEO Elon Musk is not afraid to...

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

US: M&A Has Strongest Start Since 2000

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS By Gordon Platt US companies announced $336 billion of mergers and acquisitions in the first two months of 2014, up 31% from the same period a year earlier, and the strongest January and February combined ...

Banking

World’s Best Investment Banks 2014

ANNUAL AWARDS: HIGH-OCTANE YEAR Global investment banks will face a tremendous challenge as they strive to continue running their underwriting businesses at the elevated levels they reached in 2013. Many of the largest banks on Wall Street reaped a windfall ...