The advent of Solvency II and Basel III means insurers are reconsidering where to invest, just as banks are looking for new sources of funding. Structurers are seeking ways to play these mutual interests.

Regulators face a tricky task in setting appropriate capital charges for counterparty risk. Many are worried that some of the provisions in Basel III may cause as many problems as they solve.

While some are playing down the continuance of the commodities supercycle, others say pressure on prices and a shortage of resources are here to stay, with the knock-on impact on the growth rates of the developed and developing worlds.

Copper’s role as an indicator of the pace of China’s industrialisation. But how worried should the market be about the build up of copper stocks in China’s bonded warehouses? 

The earthquake in Japan in March inevitably forced short-term changes in the country’s energy consumption, but the long-term implications for energy and other commodities are far-reaching. 

Bank of America Merrill Lynch's European ECM team has had a strong start to 2011, built chiefly around its successful 'compressed bookbuild to refloat an asset' – or Cobra – for BC Partners' Turkish retail business.

The past couple of years have seen the pricing mechanism for iron ore changed for the first time in decades, and new contracts – such as iron ore futures – launched. It is now possible to assess the effectiveness of these changes.