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Should the CFTC have read the statute more closely?

President Obama has been drawn into the latest Cfius review

The challenge of hosting the next Fifa World Cup just became easier Bank of America's $479 million loan and guarantee agreement to the state of Mato Grosso in west-central Brazil will radically change Latin American and Brazilian project finance. The loan, which closed on September 22 and matures in 2022, is the first private loan to Brazil's third-largest state. Brazilian states were previously banned from raising capital market debt, and so the deal involved intensive negotiations at the federal level of government.

The US lateral hire market hummed along in October, with firms picking up two or more partners at a time. It reached something of a milestone on October 11, when AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD announced that a seven-partner corporate and regulatory team had joined its Dallas office from Haynes and Boone. Akin Gump's corporate practice gained Tom Yang, Garrett DeVries and Matt Zmigrosky, who specialise in capital markets, securities, and M&A. The firm's white-collar defence and litigation practice gained Marty Brimmage Jr, Mike Warnecke, Arnold Spencer, and Sarah Teachout.

Air Liquide has become the first private company to issue bonds meeting socially responsible investors' criteria. The €500 million worth of nine-year notes was placed by Crédit Agricole, Citigroup, HSBC and Société Générale last month.

The region's biggest story last month was the launch of the newly-merged HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS. The combination of the UK and Australian outfits creates the eighth largest firm by headcount in the world, which now boasts 20 offices and over 2,800 lawyers. The development is a welcome boost for both firms with Herbert Smith having undergone a number of changes in structure and strategy in its home European market in recent years.

The landmark offering is an early sign of Singapore’s push to rival Malaysia as an Islamic financial centre

Up to $550 billion of European LBO loans are due to mature between now and 2016. What are the options for addressing the huge refinancing burden and what new trends are emerging in this changed financial landscape?

US president Barack Obama and governor Mitt Romney have fiercely debated how they would increase US investment. When asked about their stances on cross-border investment with the world's second largest economy, however, the discussion has revolved around anti-dumping policies or identifying China as a currency manipulator – rather than encouraging investment in the US.

Europe and Asia’s investors show their soft side New legal structures are needed for impact investments to succeed as an asset class. Although it is possible to utilise non-profit or for-profit structures for impact investments, investors – and their counsel – hope that more jurisdictions will consider social enterprise structures to simplify matters. Impact investments involve investing in both for-profit and not-for-profit social enterprises that prioritise their missions over conventional business objectives. But the strategy has blurred the distinction between between for-profit and non-profit companies. Recently we've seen charities invest in for-profit companies, such as Oxfam's investment into Mongolia's Xac Leasing, and private equity firms such as KKR prioritise environmental, social and governance issues.