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East Asia is growing at its swiftest pace since the financial crisis with fewer people than ever living in extreme poverty

Speech by Mr Toshihiko Fukui, Governor of the Bank of Japan, at the 13th International Monetary Symposium, “The euro: five years on - Implications for Asia”, organised by the Institute for International Monetary Affairs and the Delegation of the European Commission in Japan, Tokyo, 12 November 2004.

Inaugural address by Dr Y V Reddy, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, at Bankers' Conference 2004, New Delhi, 10 November 2004.

When a crisis does occur, resolution is almost always an arduous task, says Agustin Carstens, deputy managing director at the IMF.

AXA Investment Managers is upgrading the credit quality of its portfolio and is planning to stay away from volatile corporate sectors such as autos and telecommunications, said Wayne Schmidt, senior portfolio manager of a $3.3 billion fund in Minneapolis.

National City Investment Management is favoring investment-grade financials over industrials and has recently put new money into the bonds of companies in the financial sector.

Investors are griping over repricings for the Dex Media East and West "B" loans that will cut spreads to LIBOR plus 1 3/4% but leave the pro rata spread untouched.

The first signs of dissent are appearing among voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee, prompted by uncertainty over the economy's direction and evidenced by the number of recent requests to raise the discount rate.

Distressed debt investors may be carping about the high prices in the market, but a number are also confident there will be ample opportunities over the next 18 months thanks to amateurish due diligence on the part of some hedge funds, increasing leverage and rising interest rates.

The Federal Open Market Committee is now expected to raise interest rates next month, which would mark the first rate hike in December in 16 years.

Economists admit they are increasingly wrong in their estimates of nonfarm payrolls, sometimes by very large margins, contributing to an uptick in volatility in Treasuries as market confusion abounds.