With investors in a state of near permanent paranoia, pricing an initial public offering to perfection is critical in today's market. The list of failed or delayed IPOs in the first half of 2010 is testament to this. Only the strongest will survive - even those at a healthy discount. Writer Charlie Corbett

Recent positive noises from the Basel Committee have eased concerns among banks about what instruments will count as Tier 1 capital in the future. But huge uncertainties remain over what form future regulation will take, in particular regarding hybrid debt. Many banks could find that they are forced to revisit a now saturated market for bank equity issuance; either that or come up with more innovative ways of boosting capital ratios. Writer Charlie Corbett

Geraldine Lambe analyses trends in the global equity market for the first half of 2010, and gauges how the second half might pan out.

In an attempt to appease regulators, banks are issuing Tier 1 debt capital that converts into equity if a certain trigger point is reached. However, only the biggest names - and those least likely to need to convert debt to equity - will be able to attract investor support for such issuance. Writer Charlie Corbett

In markets beset by uncertainty over new Basel regulations, bank balance-sheet quality and the sovereign debt overhang, The Banker invited the heads of financial institutions groups at major banks to discuss how issuers can respond. Writer Philip Alexander

Much work has been done to standardise and automate fund processing, with several commercial solutions available, but the cost of processing fund transactions is still significantly higher than for bonds or equities and this is hampering critical mass. Is a more centralised market infrastructure needed to tackle processing costs? Writer Frances Maguire

Enjoying Israel's new status as a developed market, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is pushing to attract high-tech listings, planning to renew its IT system and playing its part in Israeli-Palestinian relations. Writer Michelle Price

The European Commission's MiFID review should enhance the competitive environment in Europe in a manner that will deal a second, more decisive blow to Europe's exchanges. But the latter are not going down without a fight. Writer Michelle Price