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Asia’s bond markets are firmly shut, and few bankers or investors are willing to bet on when they will open again. That places a premium on the ability of bookrunners to sniff out small pockets of demand — and shows issuers where the real skill lies.

Rumours of the ECB purchasing covered bonds have excited bank funding markets. It is easy to see why — liquidity is low and the market needs a leg-up. But a policy that worked two years ago won’t necessarily cut it this time round. If the central bank really wants to reignite bank finance, it should buy senior debt.

The European debt mess has reached new levels of scruffiness this week. But the good news is Europe’s leaders are finally looking to put in place a proper firewall against contagion to protect the single currency. The signs for a better rescue package are promising but there is still one last fundamental problem to solve — the sovereign debt burdens.

The closure of Europe’s high yield market — now being echoed in the US — is blocking up the whole leveraged buy-out process. However bullish private equity funds are, their debt providers are bearish — and that means dealflow will slump.

A weekend of furious briefing, speculation and discussion, and there’s a ghost of a plan — a €2tr big bazooka to knock out panic from sovereign debt markets. But to make it work, it’s best to get the money now.

Citi chief Vikram Pandit’s call for information on risk-weighting is welcome — regulatory efforts so far have been woefully short in this area. But using hypothetical balance sheets dances around the real issue of disclosure.

Emerging market bond deals are, by their nature, a riskier bet than many others. Serbia’s recent deal has tanked, but with no plans to return any time soon and a capricious market to navigate, it had nothing to lose. Investors and the bond’s arrangers have not been so lucky.

China’s approach to migrant labour is changing in a way that could transform the lives of hundreds of millions of workers. It could also help fundamentally rebalance the world’s second-largest economy

Inflation pressures have subsided and the primary focus is now on sustaining growth amid the global slowdown, leading Asian central bankers have said

China’s sovereign wealth fund won’t invest in new bonds to support the eurozone rescue, CIC president Gao Xiqing has warned

Soaring inflation and currency devaluation have led many to question whether Vietnam’s leaders have the will to make the reforms necessary for the nation to fulfil its economic potential

African nations may suffer from “asymmetrical” bargaining power with China, World Bank officials and transparency campaigners have warned