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--Scott O’Malia, commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, after the regulator approved a request for comment on Jan.3, 2014 on the applicability of regulations on the U.S. activity of non-U.S. swap dealers when entering into swaps with non-U.S. persons

There is no deal too big to get done — that is the message for CEOs wondering about taking the plunge on M&A. Verizon’s jumbo takeover, financed in less than a fortnight, demonstrated just how obliging banks and investors will be when offered large amounts of cheap debt — a good sign for companies ready to make a move in 2014, writes Stefanie Linhardt.

Three months after the completion of the Royal Mail IPO, judgement on the most controversial deal of recent times may finally be in. The asset was sold cheaply, but a strong case can be made that this was entirely justified — given the importance of its success and the threat of strike action looming.

It’s the start of the year and in keeping with tradition TaiTai and I have been jotting down a list of “improvements” that we think each of us needs to make. We then frame it and hang it outside our bedroom door and it acts as our New Year resolutions.

In this week’s round up of offshore renminbi news, Hong Kong deposits continue to rise, banks prep for Shanghai Free Trade Zone launch, and the IFC gets access to China’s interbank bond market.

If market talk is to be believed, China’s largest pork producer Shuanghui International is thinking about becoming the first company to list in both Hong Kong dollars and RMB. It should take the idea seriously. There is more to be gained than just extra paperwork.

The US private placement market – where the main investors are US insurance companies – has a long history of being open to high quality European corporate borrowers. For companies that do not want to borrow a full benchmark-sized amount, or do not want a public credit rating, the PP market offers an alternative to the public bond market.

Despite bumper books on some of the first deals of the year, sovereign, supranational and agency borrowers will be facing 2014 with a degree of trepidation. It’s set to be a year of painful readjustment to higher yields but issuers will just have to grin and bear it and such hikes will be beneficial for the market overall.

Morgan Stanley has named Jakob Horder and Mitch Nadel as co-heads of global rates following the departure of Glenn Hadden, global head of interest rates, in New York.

Structured Retail Products is running its annual pre-conference Structured Products Training Course on Feb. 5, 2014. The training course provides participants with an introduction to structured products and the issues involved in designing them. For further details, visit www.StructuredRetailProducts.com/events

The Chicago Board Options Exchange will hold its 30th annual Risk Management Conference between March 17 – 19, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Bonita Springs, Florida. For further details, visit www.cboermc.com.

Structured Retail Products will hold its 11th Annual European Structured Products Conference at the Charing Cross Hotel in London between February 6 - 7, 2014. The conference will provide the opportunity to hear from, and question the industry thought leaders that are active in the structured products market. The conference will feature panels on key trends and the outlook for the market in 2014 from global structured product heads, while international regulators will discuss the latest developments in regulation.