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The new Star trusts offer useful new opportunities for structuring financial transactions through the Cayman Islands. They will be particularly useful in complex loans or securitization deals. By Chris Narborough of Truman Bodden & Co, Cayman Islands

Recent delegation of powers from the CFTC to the NFA should lead to faster approval of non-US entities to engage in futures trades with US customers. By Michael S Sackheim of Brown & Wood LLP, New York

In the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, the government can claim two major achievements in reforms to reduce public deficit:

Republic Act No. 8183, approved on June 11 1996, repealed Republic Act No. 529. The old act was entitled the Act to Assure the Uniform Value of Philippines Coin and Currency, or more simply, the Uniform Currency Law. The Uniform currency law, in effect since June 16 1950, declared as "against public policy, and null, void, and of no effect" any provision pertaining to any domestic obligation which "purports to give to the obligee the right to require payment in gold or in a particular kind of coin or currency other than Philippine currency or in an amount of money of the Philippines measured thereby".

The Act on real estate funds has been ratified to enter into force on March 1 1998. The Act provides a more secure and regulated means for the public to invest in real estate.

A rule of the Copenhagen Stock Exchange (CSE) required any shareholder who attained legal or de facto control over a listed company to offer to buy the other shareholders' shares on the same conditions that the controlling shareholder bought the shares to gain control of the company. The initial proposal for the Securities Trading Act (STA) also contained this rule, but when it was adopted by Parliament in 1995, the control necessary to trigger the requirement to make a purchase offer to other shareholders was limited to control obtained through a majority of votes in the company.

Argos, the UK catalogue retailer, is fighting a £1.6 billion (US$2.6 billion) hostile takeover bid from rival UK company Great Universal Stores (GUS). Disappointing Christmas sales led to a sharp drop inArgos's share value and to the takeover attempt from GUS. Argos, saying the move is "opportunistic", has appointed a new chief executive to fight the hostile bid.

Three UK firms, Linklaters & Paines, Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance continue their dominance in MTNs. But Allen & Overy has leapt ahead of its competitors in the drawdown market. By Richard Forster and Barbara Galli

Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal have agreed to merge. In response to consolidation in the international banking sector the two banks will join to create North America's tenth largest bank by market capitalization (US$26.6 billion). Royal Bank's shareholders will own 54.9% of the new bank and Bank of Montreal's shareholders will own 45.1%. The transaction is being lawyered by three Canadian firms, two US and one UK. On the Canadian side McMillan Binch and Ogilvy Renault advise Royal Bank. Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt advise Bank of Montreal. US firms Sullivan & Cromwell and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett represent Royal Bank on US regulatory law. UK firm's Allen & Overy advise both sides on EU regulatory matters.

Finland's two largest energy companies are to merge. Imatra Power, the state-owned power generator, will join with Neste Oy, the partially privatized oil company. After EU merger clearance, minority shareholdings will be transformed into shares in the new holding company, IVO-Neste Group. The company will have a combined turnover of approximately FIM55 billion (US$10 billion) and will list on the Helsinki stock exchange. Full privatization is likely to follow. The government holds stakes of 95.6% in IVO and 83% in Neste. Gasum, Nesté's natural gas joint venture with Gazprom, will not be included in the merged company. The Ministry of Trade and Industry and IVO-Neste have appointed Finnish firm Roschier-Holmberg & Waselius as legal adviser. The firm's team comprises partners Tomas Lindholm, head of the capital markets group, and Gunnar Westerlund, head of the tax group.