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The US government must take a step back and evaluate the credit derivatives market's problems. Another emergency order would doom the market

Partly fuelled by a flood of petrodollars resulting from the record high of global oil prices, the demand for international Islamic financial assets has increased rapidly during the last few years. Sukuk has developed as one of the most significant mechanisms for raising finance in the international capital markets through halal (Islamically acceptable) structures. As an alternative to conventional bonds, multinational companies, as well as governments, use international sukuk issuance whenever they wish to borrow money from financial markets.

Last spring the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC) published a new circular dated March 19 2008 (SFBC circular) that establishes rules on oversight regarding the market behaviour of regulated market participants when carrying out securities transactions. The circular gives guidelines on how to avoid market abuse and contains examples of acceptable market practice. The SFBC circular came into force on May 1 2008.

Following the recent turbulence in the financial markets, not only in the aftermath of the so-called credit crunch but also, among others, the notable insider trading and general disorder in one of Sweden's largest investment banks, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (SFSA) has picked up some momentum and is becoming increasingly tough in its role as market watcher.

Following the launch of Catalist on November 26 2007, to date only a handful of Catalist companies have taken steps to appoint a continuing sponsor, whose primary responsibilities comprise the rendering of advice to the Catalist companies on rule compliance.

The legal framework for the mortgage covered bonds and public sector covered bonds set forth in Decree-Law 59/2006 of March 20 2006 (DL 59/2006) came into force on March 27 2006 but it was not until June 2008 that the first Public Sector Covered Bonds (PSCBs) programme was established in Portugal, with other programmes of the same nature expected to follow in the near future.

The Supreme Court of the Philippines promulgated (en banc, on October 6 2008) its decision in Securities and Exchange Commission v Interport Resources Corporation concerning insider trading. As stated in a concurring opinion of one of the justices, the decision is the "farthest yet this court has explored the matter".

The issuer must prepare a prospectus in accordance with guidelines set out by the LuxSE or the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). If listing on the EU regulated market, the issuer must comply with the new Prospectus Law requirements and obtain approval of the prospectus from the CSSF. If listing on the Euro MTF, the issuer will not have to comply strictly with the Prospectus Law but will still have to provide information about the company, its management, its business strategy, risk profile and financials, among other things. In essence, the same information is required but with less detail.

On October 1 2008, the National Tax Service of Korea (NTS) introduced the Advance Tax Ruling System (ATR) to allow taxpayers to obtain binding tax rulings before completing a transaction. The purpose of the ATR is to reduce uncertainties arising from the interpretation and application of tax laws and regulations, thereby improving the predictability of business activities in Korea.

In Austria, the government has announced its intention to amend the Austrian Stock Exchange Act (BörseG) in order to create a legal framework for an outright prohibition of short selling, even if only for a limited period of time. The first plenary session of the newly elected Austrian parliament is scheduled to take place on October 28 2008. Therefore, the intended amendments cannot be enacted before such date. No draft or any further details of the proposed changes to the law have been published yet.