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How will Mario Draghi be remembered? As the bazooka-toting president of the European Central Bank who vowed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to save the euro, dragging the eurozone through the sovereign debt crisis? Perhaps, but his monetary policy experiment could yet have a dreadful cost that will not be counted for many years.

Europe’s IPO market is not broken — deals get done and in some years activity is quite brisk — but it has little to be proud of. The failure rate of deals this year has been stark and the market needs to adapt.

It's no secret that tensions between North and South Korea are always simmering. But it is still a bit shocking to be confronted with the possibility that a potential disaster is right on your doorstep.

The Public Works Loans Board has given investment banks and asset managers the Christmas present they have been praying for for years. By hiking the cost of loans to local authorities, it will force them into private capital markets. Big mistake.

Saudi state TV has set a date for the elusive Saudi Aramco IPO, talked up for more than three years — and it’s next week. The deal’s already threadbare rationale might dissolve at the first hint of scrutiny, but it’s too embarrassing to ditch it now.

Vietnamese borrowers have kept loans bankers busy amid a broader slowdown in the syndication market. But the welcome they have received so far from lenders may cool down faster than expected.

In this round-up, the Chinese Communist Party’s leaders will meet this week, the US and China held a phone call to discuss a trade deal over the weekend and fully foreign-owned Qingdao Yicai received a mutual fund sales licence.

In this round-up, the big five Chinese banks have boosted lending to small and micro enterprises by 30% this year, the Chinese Ministry of Finance is planning to issue a euro bond and China’s ranking in ease of doing business jumped to 31 from 46.

In this round-up, China and the US are hammering out a draft of a mini trade deal, the regulators have switched around leaders at state-owned bad debt managers and the new foreign investment law has received praise from foreign investors.

The UK Treasury’s decision to raise the cost of borrowing for local authorities has caused quite a stir in private placement markets, as players realise institutional investors are prepared to offer debt at more attractive rates than the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). But the more adventurous local authorities may find capital markets a tougher pitch to play on, writes Silas Brown.

Bankers and journalists often complain about how much things have changed in Hong Kong, with long lunches and even longer nights making way for rigid meetings, PowerPoint presentations and low-fat lattes. Taipan was reminded of the old ways this week ─ and his head is still throbbing.

Asian issuers tend to treat the 144A market as little more than a sideshow, rarely putting in the extra work to bring their deals to US investors. That needs to change.