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The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) is allowing for listing, trading and settlement of Eurobonds for the first time. In a further move to promote itself as a leading Asian regional exchange, it is in discussions with Nasdaq, the US exchange, to facilitate dual listings. The decision to trade debt on Australia's exchange through Chess, ASX's settlement system, was taken because of the popularity of Eurobonds in London and Luxembourg. Eurobonds can be traded by creating Cufs (Chess Units of Foreign Securities) – financial instruments similar to American Depository Receipts. The first company to take advantage of the rule change is Bell Atlantic, which launched a US$2.5 billion Euronote issue on February 27 1998. The Euronotes are quoted as notes and are traded and settled as Cufs.

Howard Trust, General Counsel, The Barclays Group, talks to Diana Bentley

A wide-ranging reform and codification of Italian capital markets law tidies up some outstanding problems. It also introduces detailed rules on corporate governance. By Susanna Beltramo and Stefano Agnoli of Studio Legale Beltramo, Rome

The OECD convention against corruption is a major step against bribery. But a totally fair market is still far off. By Michael Hershman of Decision Strategies/Fairfax International LLC, Falls Church, Virginia

Formerly restrictive of international offerings of securities, the British Columbia Securities Commission has introduced measures more favourable to foreign purchasers. By David Glennie, Peter O’Callaghan and Geoffrey Belsher of Blake, Cassels & Graydon, London and Vancouver

To cut perceived abuses of the safe harbour for offshore securities sales, the US SEC has restricted the use of Regulation S by US issuers. By Richard Muglia and Annemarie Tierney of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, London

The Russian Federal Securities Commission (FSC) is continuing to assert its authority over the securities market by introducing regulation of listed companies' share issues. The reforms follows the FSC's prohibition of the controversial Sidanco bond issue with the rules expected to become effective in May 1998. As in the commission's intervention in Sidanco's bond issue, these reforms are designed to alleviate worries about minority shareholder's rights. Russian companies will be required to disclose more detailed information to shareholders before registering share issues with the FSC. This must be done at least one month before prospectuses are submitted. The commission aims to boost its control over closed subscriptions to share issues.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), the largest provider of telecommunications services in Japan, has completed a US$1 billion SEC-registered global note offering, part of a trend by Japanese corporate issuers to borrow in the international market, rather than from Japanese banks or in the Japanese domestic bond market. The transaction is the first global note offering by NTT and the second recent SEC-registered global note offering by a Japanese issuer. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter acted as global coordinators on the deal advised by Sullivan & Cromwell.

Diageo, the world's largest drinks business, is selling drinks brands Bombay gin and Dewar's scotch whisky to Bacardi, at a price thought to be over £1.1 billion (US $1.8 billion). The sale was required by US regulators in order to allow the proposed merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan to go ahead. Goldman Sachs entered into a US$2.6 billion multicurrency agreement with Bacardi, consisting of three series of term loans to finance the acquisitions and one series of term loans to refinance the company's existing debt. Frank Aquila and Neil Anderson, M&A partners at Sullivan & Cromwell's New York office, are advising Diageo.

Two New York firms, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Shearman & Sterling are advising on the merger between US refuse controllers Waste Management and USA Waste. The merger is valued at $20 billion. Shearman & Sterling is counsel to USA Waste led by M&A partner John Marzulli in New York. Other New York partners are Mary Kate Wold (tax), John Cannon (competition), Margaret Murphy (environmental) and William Roll (litigation). Stephen Sunshine, a partner in Washington, dealt with antitrust matters.