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The article reports that presidential candidates in the U.S. are politicizing the issue of regulatory reform for financial markets in the U.S. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has outlined the results of a year-long research project that offers suggestions on how U.S. regulation could be adjusted to compete with other markets. Presidential candidates are stated to be split by politics in their responses to the suggestions. Democrats are criticizing the plan as a whole. On the other hand, Republicans support the plan and congratulates U.S. President George W. Bush's administration for taking an adequate step.

The article offers information on the material adverse change (Mac) clauses in view of the increasing cases of financing banks reneging on lending terms and the volatility of the markets. It states that Mac clauses function as a condition to the buyer's obligation to close on a transaction, and are the only way for a buyer to terminate a deal without paying the reverse breakup fee. It mentions that Mac clauses are increasing in Asia despite the fact that it is the only region where potential targets have remained unscathed by the financial crisis, while foreign private equity investors in China have been dealing with Macs for years. It offers information on several court cases related to Mac clauses in the U.S. INSET: Macs in China.

The article focuses on regulating covered bonds in the U.S. It mentions that covered bonds is getting attention from banks as a productive mortgage product as it has the ability to back up the financial crisis in the U.S. It mentions that several countries in Europe including Great Britain have set up their own legislation for covered bond issuances. It also mentions that only two banks in the U.S. have issued covered bonds including Washington Mutual and Bank of America. Now the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued a policy statement to start the formal regulation process of covered bonds. It also mentions that lawyers in the U.S. suggest that covered bonds will be an alternative for mortgage securitisation.

The article focuses on several issues related to climate change which could lead to a signed agreement in Durban, South Africa in 2011 as discussed in the conference in Cancun, Mexico. It says that the Kyoto Protocol (KP) beyond 2012 is unsettled as Japan refused to sign their commitment in the protocol. It states that technology transfer will help in facilitating innovation. Moreover, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) will be part of the plan in Durban.

A new type of hedge fund is attracting interest. It promises to correct all the structural flaws of a typical fund [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is public and political pressure to keep out or at least regulate sovereign wealth funds. It must be resisted [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]