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The Netherlands is amending the rules that govern Dutch limited companies (besloten vennootschappen). The aim is to have more flexible rules, in line with today's practice. The reform will take place in three different stages. In March 2005, Dutch practitioners handed in their points of view on the first consultation document, which was distributed by the Ministry of Justice.

Demand for structured products continues to grow and deals are getting bigger to match this demand. By Louisa Gault

Ben Maiden reports on how the departure of William Donaldson could affect the world's most important securities regulator

In New York, Linklaters hired Jeff Norton from O'Melveny & Myers. Norton is a banking partner, specializing in leveraged finance transactions involving senior loan and high-yield debt elements. He has experience working in acquisition finance, media and telecoms finance, asset-based finance, debt restructurings and exchanges. His appointment is the sixth in nine months for Linklaters' New York office.

Christine Lagarde, chairman of Baker & McKenzie's global policy committee, became the French minister for foreign trade. Lagarde practised labour and antitrust law as a partner at Baker & McKenzie in Paris during the late 1980s. She became managing partner of the office in 1991 and joined the firm's executive committee in 1995. Last year Lagarde received the Legion D'Honneur from French president Jacques Chirac.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised UK department store operator Debenhams on the £2.05 billion refinancing of its third- party and shareholder debt and a related corporate restructuring. CSFB, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley acted as lead arrangers for the syndicated loan facilities. The refinancing follows private equity consortium Baroness Retail's acquisition of Debenhams in 2003. The Baroness consortium is made up of funds advised by CVC, Texas Pacific Group and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity Group. Partners Brian Gray, Karen Fountain, Patrick Gaynor and Ken Dierden led the Freshfields team. Shearman & Sterling advised the lead arrangers.

The government of India has raised the existing investment limit of foreign direct investment (FDI) from 74% to 100% in Indian publications publishing non-news material in scientific, technical and specialty magazines or periodicals and journals. No substantive definition of technical and specialty magazines has been provided, so the government is likely to grant clearances on a case-by-case basis.

Ben Maiden reports on a ruling that exposes underwriters to new litigation risks

After a delay of several months, legislative changes implementing the EU Directive (2003/6/EC) on insider dealing and market manipulation (the Market Abuse Directive) entered into force on July 1 2005. The implementation of the Market Abuse Directive entails the following changes: (i) the introduction of non-monetary as well as monetary administrative sanctions for manipulative actions and use of inside information in cases where the prerequisites for criminal sanctions are not available; (ii) more detailed regulation on insider registers; (iii) extending the ongoing disclosure obligation to issuers that only have applied for listing of their securities; (iv) the introduction of rules allowing an issuer to delay public disclosure on its own responsibility under certain conditions; and (v) an obligation for securities intermediaries to report any suspicious security dealings to the Finnish Financial Supervision Authority (the FSA). And, lastly, the legislative changes will extend the supervisory and investigatory powers of the FSA by giving the FSA the right to obtain information and to conduct hearings in cases of suspected market abuse.

Louisa Gault assesses 2005's most complex international equity offering so far