Mohan Kaul of the Commonwealth Business Council explains how business can get involved with Africa.

Foreign banks in Latin America are failing to help its economies by extending private credit. If they do not act now to moderate their behaviour, they may find host governments legally obliging them to do so.

A G4 that included China and a single voice for Europe makes sense but international diplomacy means it won’t happen overnight.

A relatively upbeat end to last year in the light of stable market conditions does nothing to reduce the possibility of crisis for many countries if the US dollar and economy do not recover.

Russia appears to be at a crossroads with the battle between market reformers and interventionists reaching fever pitch.
In this special Davos issue, we put the spotlight on Russia, with an exclusive interview with finance minister Alexei Kudrin, who The Banker has picked as its Finance Minister of the Year 2005. Mr Kudrin is candid with his thoughts on the Yukos affair, as well as banking and market reforms.

Brazil’s central bank assumed control of the operations of struggling Banco Santos on November 15 after the latter was ordered to provide R$700m ($251m) to cover defaulted loans, a sum that exceeded its ability to pay by R$100m.

Turkey is likely to experience problems when it introduces a new currency next year, bankers and economists fear.
Turkey is due to introduce the currency, the new Turkish lira (YTL), on January 1. Six zeros will be knocked off the old currency in a move to ease accounting practices, reduce strains on payment systems and create psychological conditions to curb inflation forever.

The decision by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade Greece’s credit rating has damaged the country’s image but will have little impact on the cost of borrowing, according to Athens-based analysts.

Belgian bank Dexia and Italian bank Sanpaolo IMI are holding talks, possibly about a merger or a joint venture, according to reports leaked as The Banker went to press.

José Antonio Ocampo devises a plan resolve the Latin American growth conundrum.