Editor's letter: Peaks, troughs and Alka-Seltzers

So, as 2011 draws to a close. And as it does, I look back over my start at TFR. Since I began in August I have been racking my brains looking for metaphors to describe a volatile market characterised by uncertainty and unpredictability. In September I encountered a careering moose and probably got away with it.

News
Updates news: “I always thought the euro would never work”
Three weeks before David Cameron delivered his ‘non’ to President Sarkozy’s proposed eurozone rescue package, former UK chancellor of the exchequer Norman Lamont reminded a roomful of Newton Investment Management annual update delegates of Keynes’ maxim that “the inevitable never happens” but the unexpected "always does".

Feature
Asia Special Focus: Booming trade
Will Asia drive the future of trade finance? Clarissa Dann reports on LIXIN GUO’s insights into the region’s growth and its implications at the recent IFA conference in Vienna

Feature
Special Focus Asia: The RMB habit
How far can the renminbi (RMB) establish itself as an alternative to the US dollar as an international reserve currency? Clarissa Dann summarises LIXIN GUO’S IFA conference presentation

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People and places news: Evraz joins the FTSE 100 and closes revolving credit facility
Evraz, the Russian mining and metals conglomerate, began trading as part of the UK’s FTSE on 19 December 2011, having been admitted to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange on 7th November 2011.

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Deal news: Angolan corporate and Chinese trucker benefit from first Chinese Yuan LC
Standard Bank de Angola has issued the first-ever Chinese yuan Renminbi (CNY because this deal was settled off shore) denominated letter of credit (LC) from Angola.

Asia Special Focus: Editor's letter - Tomorrow's Foxconn
According to a recent study by management consultants McKinsey & Co, Asia is the fastest-growing market for corporate and investment banking and will be the world’s largest in 2015 as the region’s growth continues to outpace the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. And the fastest-growing trade routes include those between commodity producers in Latin America, South Africa and Australia to emerging Asia.

News
Deals news: BBVA closes first phase of EPSSN machinery finance deal
Venezuelan national steel company, Empresa de Producción Social Siderúrgica Nacional, CA Venezuela (EPSSN) has agreed the first phase of finance to purchase German machinery manufactured by SMS Siemag AG.

News
Innovative Norilsk Nickel US$1.5 PXF closed
The US$1.5bn syndicated pre-export financing (PXF) deal announced by OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel (see TFR, November 2011, page 8) has now closed

News
Updates news: Insurance companies to invest in trade finance?
The higher costs to banks of holding trade-related debt as a result of the Basel III banking regulations is could create an opportunity for insurance companies to step into the breach.