Alternatives

• The Preferred Stock Puzzle

  Banks that had big losses and were bailed out should, in theory, have suspended preferred-stock dividends. They didn’t, creating a value play — and confounding notions of capital structure.

• Hedge Fund Intelligence Gathering Gets Harder

  Where's the line between intelligence gathering and insider trading?

Asset Management

• Reforming Over-The-Counter Derivatives

  Legislators want to reform derivatives trading. The market may beat them to it.

• The Equity Culture Loses Its Bloom

  After two brutal stock market crashes, investors are questioning the conventional wisdom that stocks outperform bonds. They're systematically pulling back from equities, and Wall Street will never be the same.

Banking & Capital Markets

• Barry Ridings and Terry Savage: Lazard’s Dynamic Duo

  Lazard's restructuring co-heads Barry Ridings and Terry Savage have salvaged many a bankrupt company.

• The Future of Wall Street

  Six in-depth features shed some light on what the coming years could bring for Wall Street, and for the global markets that depend on its services.

Green Investing

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Champions Green Investing

  When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became a partner of VantagePoint Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in “clean technology,” earlier this year, it was another sign that “green” is coming of age commercially.

• Financing the Fight Against Global Warming

  “Green Team” members search for a consensus on climate change funding.

Investment Strategies

• British Fund Juridica Buys Stakes In Plaintiffs Lawsuits

  Looking for those elusive uncorrelated assets? How about investing in U.S. lawsuits? Juridica, a closed-end British fund, does just that.

• Goldman Sachs Strives To Stay On Top

  After more than a century of investment banking success, Goldman Sachs grapples with an unyielding publicity crisis and a rapidly shifting regulatory environment.

Exchanges & Trading

• London Stock Exchange CEO Xavier Rolet Fights Back

  Rolet is fighting to retain the exchange's market share in equity trading.

• Vienna Stock Exchange: The Consolidator?

  Co-CEO Michael Buhl has grand vision for the tiny Austrian exchange.

• A Return to Liquid Markets Demands New Risk Innovation

  Developing a more robust approach to assessing risk and value in portfolios.

Global Markets

• Dubai’s Debt Blues

  The brash emirate has warded off default, but it needs broader debt restructuring and reform to regain its economic leadership. Analysts say Dubai’s handling of the crisis has been a textbook example of poor public relations and a lack of understanding of project financing.

• China’s IPO Flurry

  China now accounts for half of all IPO money raised worldwide. Maybe next: foreign issuers in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Pensions & Endowments

• Wetherly Capital Settles With Cuomo In Pay-to-Play Investigation

  Placement agent Wetherly Capital signs settlement with New York Attorney General over pay-to-play investigation, endorses code of conduct.

• Is Joshua Gotbaum the 'Superman' for the PBGC?

  Pension Benefit Guaranty Director picked for his grasp of politics as well as finance.

Regulation

• Goldman Could Benefit From Proprietary Trading Reforms

  Breaking the banks under President Obama’s new plan, Goldman will likely land on top.

• Reforming the Regulators

  Efforts to fix the financial services industry will be wasted without true reforms. Former Glenwood Capital Investments chairman Frank Meyer outlines four ways the regulatory process itself needs to be reformed.

Research

• Analysts Choose All-America Executive Team

  First Solar leads 2010 All-America Executive Team ranking of the nation’s best CEOs, CFOs, investor relations professionals and IR companies.

• The Power 25: Leaders in Finance

  The most influential people in the world of investment and banking today.