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PHH collapse: not a one-off; Taiwan softens on private equity; Approvals in China slowed yet further; Uncertainty on the future of protectionism; Private equity code fails to mollify critics

Russia Recommended firms Tier 1 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Dewey & LeBoeuf Linklaters White & Case Tier 2 Baker & McKenzie Clifford Chance CMS Cameron McKenna Salans Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Tier 3 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld Allen & Overy Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Debevoise & Plimpton Herbert Smith Latham & Watkins "The big M&A trend is domestic," says one corporate lawyer. Energy, real estate and banking are the busiest areas. The hyper-domestic M&A market is a sign of an increasingly prospering economy, much of it down to high oil and commodity prices. This has allowed companies to accumulate cash for acquisitions and Russians are increasingly looking to acquire assets abroad. In 2006, roughly $10 billion was spent on outbound acquisitions. Most conspicuous is the R3.3 trillion ($127 billion) Stabilisation Fund – built from the country's oil profits – which is looking to invest. And the term Gazpromisation has entered international parlance to describe the aggressive acquisition of assets through state-owned companies.

Portugal Recommended firms Tier 1 Morais Leitão Galvão Teles Soares da Silva & Associados PLMJ Tier 2 Linklaters Vieira de Almeida & Associados Tier 3 Gonçalves Pereira Castelo Branco Uría Menéndez Although the Portuguese economy has not had an especially strong year, a boom in M&A and private equity across the rest of Europe has benefited local lawyers. Foreign investment from Spain, Germany and France has brought a considerable amount of work, particularly for deals involving power stations and local ports. The influx of Spanish interest has particularly helped those Spanish firms that set up in Portugal relatively recently, including Uría Menéndez and Garrigues Portugal. Plus the international network of international firms like Linklaters, which also has a strong office in Madrid, has helped win some of this cross-border work.

Poland Recommended firms Tier 1 Dewey Ballantine Grzesiak Weil Gotshal & Manges Tier 2 Allen & Overy A Pedzich Baker & McKenzie Gruszczynski i Wspólnicy Clifford Chance Janicka Namiotkiewicz i Wspólnicy Linklaters T Komosa i Wspólnicy Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak White & Case W Danilowicz W Jurcewicz i Wspólnicy Tier 3 Beata Gessel & Paerners Chadbourne & Parke Radzikowski Szubielska i Wspólnicy CMS Cameron McKenna Dariusz Greszta Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka Gide Loyrette Nouel Lovells H Seisler Norton Rose Piotr Strawa and Partners Salans Wierzbowski Eversheds Transactional work has expanded globally and Poland has emerged as one of the most active countries among the EU accession states in central and eastern Europe.

Netherlands Recommended firms Tier 1 Allen & Overy De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Tier 2 Clifford Chance Loyens & Loeff NautaDutilh Stibbe Tier 3 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linklaters "The Netherlands is a playground for foreign investors," said one corporate lawyer, "who can take a perfectly good company and fuck it up for a couple of euros." The debate over the correct balance of power between a company's shareholders and management received a new twist this year when VEB, the Dutch shareholders' association, took ABN Amro to court to prevent it from selling its American operation, LaSalle, to Bank of America.

Mexico Recommended firms Tier 1 Creel García-Cuéllar y Müggenburg Galicia y Robles Mijares Angoitia Cortés y Fuentes White & Case Tier 2 Jáuregui Navarrete y Nadar Kuri Breña Sánchez Ugarte Corcuera y Aznar Ritch Mueller Santamarina y Steta Tier 3 Baker & McKenzie Basham Ringe y Correa González Calvillo Goodrich Riquelme y Asociados Holland & Knight – Gallastegui y Lozano Von Wobeser y Sierra Mexican financial institutions have created enormous funds that are looking for institutional products to buy.

Luxembourg Recommended firms Tier 1 Allen & Overy Arendt & Medernach Bonn Schmitt Steichen Elvinger Hoss & Prussen Linklaters Tier 2 Kremer Associés & Clifford Chance Oostvogels Pfister Feyten Tier 3 Loyens Winandy Molitor Fisch & Associés Wildgen & Partners Luxembourg has been buzzing with activity following a surge of takeover activity. Private-equity firms in particular have used the jurisdiction to structure buyouts due to Luxembourg's friendly regulatory framework.

Competition between firms in Peru concentrated on fishing in 2007

Brazil Recommended firms Tier 1 Machado Meyer Sendacz e Opice Mattos Filho Veiga Filho Marrey Jr e Quiroga Pinheiro Neto Tier 2 Barbosa Müssnich & Aragão Souza Cescon Avedissian Barrieu e Flesch Tozzini Freire Teixeira e Silva Tier 3 Demarest e Almeida Levy & Salomão Motta Fernandes Rocha Pinheiro Guimarães Trench Rossi e Watanabe Mergers and acquisitions partners all agree on several things. First, the M&A markets have not been this active since the dotcom boom, nearly a decade ago. The devaluation of the dollar and the influx of foreign capital into the country mean that the prices of Brazilian companies are going up – and that means they are in demand.

During the past three months, the financial press has been full of observations of industry specialists and commentators concerning just how long it will take before the asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities markets are restored to some semblance of normalcy. Estimates offered by people who usually know what they are talking about range from at least a year to up to three years. In light of the size of these markets and the large number of people whose lives and livelihoods have been affected by the meltdown, it is not surprising that there is such constant focus on how long it will take.