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A flight to quality by skittish investors allowed Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) to complete successfully the largest ever equity placement in Australia last month. The company managed to raise A$1.7 billion (US$839 million) to fund its acquisition of a 40% stake in the Spanish construction company, Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, a subsidiary of the Ferrovial group. According to joint lead manager UBS Warburg, the offer was well supported by existing shareholders, with additional strong demand from new institutional investors. The issue was upsized from A$1.55 billion to A$1.7 billion, with institutional investors picking up about A$1.26 billion of the offering and retail investors the remaining A$440 million. Demand was split evenly between international and domestic investors, with strong offshore demand mainly from Europe, North America and Asia.

The FIX protocol is gaining increasing prominence as an effective way to develop electronic connectivity for investors and brokers worldwide. But what does connectivity mean, and what can it really achieve – particularly in a fragmented market such as Asia? To find out, Asiamoney and UBS Warburg brought together people from the buy side, the sell side and the exchange.

Finding the right wealth manager or the right investment strategy to stay ahead of the markets is becoming more difficult. Pauline Loong talks to the men, women and smart machines who try to beat the odds.

The FIX protocol is gaining increasing prominence as an effective way to develop electronic connectivity for investors and brokers worldwide. But what does connectivity mean, and what can it really achieve – particularly in a fragmented market such as Asia? To find out, Asiamoney and UBS Warburg brought together people from the buy side, the sell side and the exchange.

Air New Zealand's Aussie airline Ansett was in need of quick cash. Major shareholder Singapore Airlines was willing to come to the rescue, yet neither Australia or New Zealand were comfortable with the deal. Come September it was too late. In a dramatic turn of events, Ansett was cut loose from its parent as Air NZ grappled with its own financial woes. Fiona Haddock reports.

Billionaire George Soros made his name in Asia when he shorted the Thai baht in 1996, thereby setting off the regional currency crisis, it is said. However, these days Soros has a whole new approach to investment – one Asia's leaders might take a little more kindly to. Fiona Haddock reports.

The global repercussions of the terrible events that occurred in the US on September 11 are still becoming apparent. As financial minds attempt to quantify the likelihood of a global recession in the face of lower consumer confidence in the US and elsewhere, supermarket credits have again taken up the mantle and offered investors a defensive option. Vivek Ahuja reports.

With defensive sectors set to be the drivers of volume in a bearish market, loans for the supermarket and top end retail sectors have recently become more attractive. Traditionally conservative margins have undergone a transformation and deals are no longer priced solely on the basis of the lucrative ancillary business on offer from this cash rich sector. Stephen Fitzmaurice reports.