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Unpopular rules are going, but what about the misconduct they were designed to prevent?

Recommended firms Tier 1 Advokatfirman Vinge Mannheimer Swartling Tier 2 Gernandt & Danielsson Linklaters White & Case Advokat Vinge and Mannheimer Swartling stayed ahead of their rivals in 2006. Both firms made the most of private equity funds looking to invest in Sweden. Though financial sponsor deal count was down on last year, value soared by 57% to $12.5 billion. Mannheimer advises 3i, Altor and Accent Equity; Vinge acts for EQT, a private equity consortium of the Carlyle Group and Providence Equity Partners.

Europe Andrea Cristaudi has left Simmons & Simmons to join Pavesio e Associati in what is the first lateral hire for the Allen & Overy Turin breakaway firm. He specializes in domestic and cross-border M&A and equity capital markets transactions. Cristaudi had been mentored by managing partner Carlo Pavesio in Allen & Overy's Turin office. Having been made partner at the Milan office Cristaudi then left for Simmons & Simmons in June 2005. He will be reunited with Pavesio when the breakaway firm launches at the start of next year, by which time Pavesio intends to have made more hires. Pavesio e Associati will focus on corporate finance, regulation and litigation and will have a formal alliance with Allen & Overy despite being financially independent.

The M&A market in South Korea has benefited from a large upsurge in deals in the first 10 months of 2006 compared to the same period last year, according to data provider Dealogic.

Recommended firms Tier 1 Bowman Gilfillan Webber Wentzel Bowens Tier 2 Cliffe Dekker Deneys Reitz Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs Werksmans South Africa experienced a healthy growth in M&A this year as international involvement in the market increased following Barclay's acquisition of Absa in 2005, the largest foreign investment ever made in the country.

Recommended firms Tier 1 Bonelli Erede Pappalardo Chiomenti Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Gianni Origoni Grippo & Partners Tier 2 Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Public equity activity in Italy has soared over the last 12 months in the face of a slight decline in the volume and value of private equity deals. The growth in the value of public equity means that despite a fall in the total number of M&A deals from 2005 to 2006 their cumulative value has risen from $85.4 billion to $137.8 billion.

Recommended firms Tier 1 Machado Meyer Sendacz e Opice – Advogados Mattos Filho Veiga Filho Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados Pinheiro Neto Advogados Tier 2 Barbosa Müssnich & Aragão Tozzini Freire Teixeira e Silva Advogados The takeoff in Brazil's equity capital markets has been mirrored by a leap in M&A. According to Dealogic, in the first 10 months of 2006 there were 193 deals involving a Brazilian target, up from 123 over the same period in 2005. These have been worth $47.6 billion, more than six times the value for last year.

Why expense priorities during an administration need to be clear

Lessons for arrangers of mortgage deals

In Malta the corporate tax rate and the highest personal tax rate are both 35%, but Malta has the full-imputation tax system. Through this system, tax paid at the company level is regarded as a prepayment for the tax payable by the shareholder when the profits are eventually distributed. After the dividends are paid, the 35% paid by the company is given as credit for the shareholder's tax, whether they are resident in Malta or not. If the shareholder's personal tax rate is lower than 35%, they qualify for a refund of corporate tax. The full-imputation system reduces tax-induced economic distortions and avoids the double taxation of corporate profits.