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David Bernstein of Clifford Chance Rogers & Wells LLP, New York, argues for a return to old-style accounting. It may have been less accurate, but modern methods create confusion and hinder comparisons between one business and another, he says

Bank of China has completed one of the biggest and most complex deals in Hong Kong's history. The $2.47 billion offering will create the seventh-largest stock on the Hong Kong exchange by market capitalization. As one of Hong Kong's note-issuing banks Bank of China has a prominent name in the local market – a factor that certainly contributed to the deal's success. Cheating the odds, the offering priced at the top end of its range and was vastly over-subscribed. This, despite weak global demand for equities, depressed sentiment in Hong Kong and a bad loans problem that mirrors the problems within China's banking industry as a whole.

Allen & Overy has advised on the world's first global Islamic securities issue – the Federation of Malaysia's $600 million offering of trust certificates. The securities were issued in the form of trust certificates, governed by English law.

Brazil is talking tough despite the problems of nearby Argentina. Ben Maiden finds out why local lawyers are sure recent reforms mean their nation will not suffer the same difficulties

China has shown its willingness to open markets to competition. But the country's insolvency laws need updating if lawmakers want foreign investment to last. By Campbell Korff and Xinhong Liu of Clifford Chance, Hong Kong

In a month that saw the UK's FTSE 100 index fall to its lowest levels since 1997, Great Universal Stores' public sale of a 22.5% stake in clothing company Burberry was a welcome distraction for capital markets teams at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters.

Germany's national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, concluded a whirlwind month of negotiations at the beginning of July to acquire 65% of Stinnes, the logistics and freight company, from E.ON, the energy group, for €2.5 billion ($2.5 billion). The transaction is one of the largest acquisitions to close since the German Takeover Act was introduced in January this year and its legal structure points a way forward for future acquisitions under the new laws.

German lawyers have given a lukewarm response to a code of practice for companies listing on the Frankfurt stock market. The Going Public Principles developed by Deutsche Börse and the banking and legal members of its Primary Markets Advisory Committee are designed to strengthen the role of the prospectus as the central information medium for deals and are the result of several months of market consultation.

A Bill that introduces new standards for the corporate governance of companies with shares listed on the Athens Stock Exchange was recently approved by the Greek parliament and following Government Gazette registration the new law has now come into force (as law No 3016/2002). These new corporate governance rules are a follow-up to a Code of Conduct for listed companies issued by a decision of the Capital Market Commission in late 2000.

Lawyers at Allen & Overy were tight-lipped after the launch of the first sovereign Eurobond by the Republic of Iran since the country's Islamic revolution in 1979. Together with Iranian firm Attieh, the UK firm's international debt and equity specialist Roger Wedderburn-Day advised book runners Commerzbank Securities and BNP Paribas on the €500 million ($506 million) deal launched on July 10. The Central Bank of Iran is not using outside counsel.