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At a time when Nasdaq stalwarts such as Microsoft, Lycos and Novell tumbled to record lows, May was a brave month to launch high-tech IPOs. Especially for issuers in Asia's turbulent markets. But while others such as Caripac.com and ColbyNet shelved their IPOs, a handful of companies ploughed on.

Internet IPOs, privatizations, and the delights of the hostile takeover made 1999 a year to remember for Italian law firms. But managing partners are facing some difficult decisions, and a wrong move could lead to their firms being shut out of booming markets. Rufus Jones reports from Rome and Milan

Right to receive customer deposits to be extended In September 1999, Finland's Ministry of Finance appointed a working group to assess, among other things, the need to amend the legislation concerning the right to receive customer deposits. The working group presented its preliminary findings in an interim report published in April 2000.

Deacons and Graham & James have called an end to their 10-year association. As of July 1 Deacons Graham & James will cease to exist. They are parting company after coming to a "crossroad in [their] respective strategies", said Mark Roberts, Deacons' managing partner, in a statement to the press.

Richard Forster reports from the 25th Annual Conference of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)Sydney on how regulators are rising to the challenge of a global market for capital

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has set out 30 accounting standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Committee which its Presidents Committee approved for adoption by IOSCO members at the annual conference in Sydney.

The London office of White & Case has secured the services of Maurice Allen, the founder of Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ London practice. Allen arrives with another three partners from Weil Gotshal: Martin Hughes, Rachel Hatfield and Mark Western.

New capital market initiative launched The New Capital Market (NCM) is an initiative by the New Zealand Stock Exchange designed primarily to assist small and medium-sized companies in raising capital for new growth-oriented businesses. It is envisaged that strong incentives – in particular simplified disclosure and reduced listing and brokerage fees – will encourage companies to enter the NCM and eventually graduate to full listing on the main board of the stock exchange.

Uzbekistan adopts single currency exchange rate The Uzbekistan government has taken the long-awaited first step towards liberalizing the country's harsh currency controls. In typical Uzbek fashion, this first step — contained in Resolution No. 171 of the Cabinet of Ministers "On the Improvement of the Procedure for Accounting and Reporting with Respect to Currency and Export-Import Operations," April 28 2000 — is extremely limited and, in some respects, even secretive. Nonetheless, the fact that the government has taken any action at all is likely to be welcomed by foreign investors and multilateral financial institutions, which have pressured the government for some time to lift its controls and make the local currency — the soum — freely convertible.

The creation of iX The London Stock Exchange and the Deutsche Börse announced on May 3 2000 that they would be merging through the creation of a new company – International Exchanges (iX). The merger aims to offer a unified trading platform using a common market model and regulatory approach – enabling easier trading in European equities.