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It is in neither China's nor the US’ best interest to continue bickering over currency

European banks have plenty of good assets, and US treasuries know it. It's time to connect the dots — and Barclays is showing the way.

In repaying the unidentified holders of $1bn of unguaranteed, senior unsecured Anglo Irish bank debt, the Irish government has betrayed its electorate. But it is the ECB that should take the greater blame.

To be useful, the ECB should direct its covered bond purchase firepower where it is most needed — away from core Europe. But although logical, it's not without its risks. And the Greek referendum plan has added a few more.

The polls are now open for EuroWeek’s syndicated loans and leveraged finance awards 2011.

Hong Kong’s interbank market tracks its counterpart in the US, reflecting the peg of the local currency to the US dollar. But rising loans threaten a dislocation between Hibor and Libor rates — and banks should take a cautious approach to their lending for the rest of the year.

The management of the EFSF faces an unenviable task, trying to sell a deal for a credit that is barely recognisable from when it was first conceived — and is likely to change a lot more. But somehow they must find a way to communicate the strategy with more clarity than the region's fractious politicians.

For some of the categories in this year’s syndicated loans and leveraged finance awards poll, you are able to choose from a shortlist of banks derived from the top 10 bookrunners in that sector according to Dealogic.

Retail investors should have as much right as fund managers to short stocks. But Hong Kong’s stock exchange would be well advised to hold punters back from short selling until markets have recovered some stability.

With international banks caught in a capital conundrum, the smart money is moving to the denominator of capital ratios — risk weighted assets. To square the circle of pressure to lend, to recapitalise, and to derisk, banks are turning to techniques once dubbed “financial alchemy”. But we should think twice before dismissing this process.

Corporate treasurers that have already refinanced this year may be happy that they’ve locked in some of the tightest pricing seen since the crisis. But they could face a battle — and higher fees — when lenders turn their minds to extension options that have to be approved next year.

Why the long face? The European debt situation is now so abysmal that its leaders cannot possibly offer up anything other than a definitive, confidence-boosting solution. Right?