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Panagiotis Drakopoulos Far from the saturated marketplace of Europe, the economies of south-east Europe (SEE) have managed to secure a relatively stable growth potential through targeted financial policy reforms. The years before the financial crisis saw a large investment boom in the region by means of capital inflows, inevitably fuelling market bubbles, such as the one that popped six years ago in the Romanian real estate market. Despite the fact that the financial and liquidity crisis may have bucked the upward trend in the real-estate sector, SEE remains a top European destination for short-term and long-term investment opportunities, multiplying its regional growth dynamics. Regionwise, SEE countries seem to border the rest of Europe both in terms of distance and mentality, as opposed to Asian and African countries.

In late October, the Slovak Parliament adopted a comprehensive amendment to the income tax act, introducing changes in direct taxation that will come into force on January 1 2015. Here, we are provide a brief summary of the key changes introduced in the amendment that affect businesses.

The region’s banks have more than enough Repo markets in Asia are growing and new banking regulations make it more expensive for banks to hold assets on their own books. But collateral in the region must be permitted to move across borders. While dealers in other jurisdictions may complain about a shortage of collateral, the market remains relatively simple in Asia: it's predominantly cash.

Rose Marie M King-Dominguez Melyjane G Bertillo-Ancheta The 2015 economic forecast for the Philippines is mixed. The outlook is no doubt the result of the many challenges the country has had to face in the past year. From natural disasters, including Typhoon Yolanda, to man-made calamities, such as worsening traffic jams and port congestion, the Philippines has not had an easy time. But despite these setbacks, the country's growth prospects are generally positive, and its credit ratings have been upgraded to investment grade status. Government and policy-makers can do a lot to keep economic indicators in the black, by re-focusing on improving the transparency and stability of rules, and getting regulators to modernise their perspectives.

Jose Luis Sosa In recent years, there have been an increasing number of mergers and acquisitions involving Panamanian bank branches and subsidiaries. This M&A activity has resulted in an increase of regional conglomerates consolidated in Panama that include banks as part of their business holdings. As a result, and in an effort to safeguard the Panamanian financial system from extraneous risk, and beyond its regulatory purview, the Panamanian Superintendence of Banks recently issued Resolution 007-2014 (Resolution 007), which will enter into force on January 1 2015. This extends regulatory oversight to all entities of a single corporate group that includes banks and that are consolidated in Panama, even beyond Panama's borders.

This instalment of Corporate Governance Quarterly asks whether shareholders are interested in anything more than the bottom line

The SEC wants it left out of financial reports The number of managers who have moved from hedge fund to mutual fund management since the financial crisis is raising concern among regulators about risk management and disclosures. They are making the switch as a result of the growing popularity of liquid alternative funds (liquid alts).

Bank of China's RMB 39.94 billion ($6.5 billion) additional tier 1 (AT1) offering proved the depth of Asia's capital markets. The bank's innovative structure has also set a precedent for the rest of the industry.

The Stock Connect has been subject to significant scrutiny about the lack of trading volume. But market participants believe critics should focus on the scheme's longer-term implications

New European directives expand the entities protected by deposit guarantee schemes. Taking Germany as an example, Linklaters' Antje-Irina Kurz and Marcel Gromm explain how the changes represent a significant shift