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As bankers return to their desks sunburnt and crispy, and London feels the first chill of autumn, the Ranger reminisces over summer's best bits.

The European Commission says that Apple owes Ireland €13bn in back taxes — a figure that would more than cover the sovereign’s funding target for the year.

My beloved wife Tai Tai often complains, quite unreasonably I think, about how under appreciated she feels. But a recent gaffe by an acquaintance of mine had her, for once, thanking her lucky stars that she married me back in the day when bankers actually paid some attention to their better halves.

The World Bank broke a 30 year silence in special drawing rights (SDR) bonds with the sale of the SDR500m ($700m) three year note in China on Wednesday. While the Mulan bond is widely seen as a symbolic gesture to promote the internationalisation of the renminbi, market participants said it is more than just that in spite of the relatively narrow investor base.

Showing flexibility over Caixa Geral de Depósitos latest recapitalisation may not have been such a bad decision, but by using logic inconsistent with other cases the European Commission risks making its State aid rules appear arbitrary and meaningless.

Sukuk stepped into the spotlight after JP Morgan decided to include Islamic bonds in its EM bond indices, but while eligibility will give the asset class a boost, it will be a while before the product is more broadly used.

The Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (Suuti), the government agency looking to sell down its holdings in 51 companies, did the right thing when it recently revised a request for proposals after clashing with potential bidders. But the drama shows that the body should have gotten it right the first time.

Incompatible accounting standards could soon be a thing of the past for foreign issuers looking to tap into China’s onshore bond market with the World Bank’s upcoming SDR trade providing a template on how to get around this long standing issue.

Falling costs, increasing transparency requirements and the advent of new technological solutions are encouraging traders in key Asian markets to make the switch from voice to electronic FX trading

Amid much turmoil over whether Portugal will lose the one investment grade rating that is keeping it on the European Central Bank’s shopping list, no one is asking a vital question.

Abundant oil reserves transform a country’s economy. The results are not always positive — some sovereigns suffer from the “Dutch Disease”, which inhibits exports of non-oil goods through an appreciation in the real exchange rate. But overall natural resources, in particular oil and gas, prove to be a boon for the lucky country’s finances.

Poland became the first European country to issue a Panda bond on Thursday, printing a landmark Rmb3bn ($451m) deal. The depreciating renminbi was not enough to put off foreign investors, while the yield pick-up over other sovereign bonds helped ensure a strong order book. Addison Gong reports.