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The New Zealand general election was held on July 27. Contrary to early predictions, the incumbent Labour government did not win enough seats in the House of Representatives to have a clear majority. Labour (52 seats) and the Progressive Coalition (two seats) won 54 seats between them in the 120 seat House and opted to form a minority government, relying on a formal agreement with United Future New Zealand (eight seats) to support them on matters of confidence and supply. Labour leader Helen Clark will enter her second three-year term as prime minister and the majority of cabinet ministers will retain their pre-election portfolios. Despite Labour winning only a minority of seats in the House, it is likely that the government will continue with its pre-election monetary, banking and securities markets and institutions policy.

In July 2002 the pan-European exchange virt-x announced the introduction of a central counterparty (CCP) for spring 2003. With the interposition of the CCP between the parties trading on virt-x, clearing as a new element will be introduced after the trading (buying and selling of securities) and before the settlement (delivery and payment of securities in fulfilment of the contractual obligations resulting from trading).

A row has blown up over provisions in the Enterprise Bill that some say could damage asset-backed deals. Tom Williams investigates

The International Accounting Standards Board must rethink some of its proposed rule changes, say Mark Nicolaides and Saffron Street of Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw

After many years of uncertainty, the Korean government's official position regarding the opening of the Korean legal market may be unveiled in the not-too-distant future. In accordance with a procedural schedule adopted by the World Trade Organization (WTO), 14 nations have, as of the end of June, submitted their requests regarding the opening of the legal market in Korea. The Korean government is required to submit its response by March 30 2003 and negotiations between the WTO member nations and Korea are to be concluded by the end of 2004.

On July 2002 Borsa Italiana SpA, the company responsible for the Italian Stock Exchange, issued a revised version of the Code of Conduct for Italian listed companies which was set forth in 1999. The Code of Conduct has been drafted by the Committee for the Corporate Governance of Listed Companies.

Japan's financial payment and settlement systems are to be strengthened as part of a review by a new committee set up to minimize operational risks in the country's financial markets. The initiative, spearheaded by the Financial Services Agency and agreed by the Financial System Council, will involve senior Japanese officials and academics looking at ways to create a safety net for the payment and settlement systems.

Ben Maiden reports from New York on whether foreign issuers will still flock to the US

The Irish government has recently enacted regulations to give effect to two EU directives: Directive 2000/28/EC relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit institutions; and Directive 2000/46/EC relating to the taking up, pursuit of and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions.

Many times the future of Hong Kong has been written off. Many times the region has bounced back. By Nick Ferguson