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In Great Northern Insurance Co v Mount Vernon Fire Insurance Co, No. 97-7989, 1998 US App LEXIS 8413 (2d Cir May 1 1998), the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit certified a question to the New York Court of Appeals regarding the interpretation of the "other insurance" clause in a commercial general liability policy. The "other insurance" clause is a standard provision commonly found in commercial liability policies which typically comes into play when multiple insurance policies cover a single loss. It should apply only to disputes between insurance companies over how much each must pay for a particular loss. Great Northern gives New York's highest court the chance to confirm that "other insurance" clauses should not be employed to cut a policyholder's right to the full limit of an insurer's liability for a covered loss.

To promote Singapore as a centre for international capital fundraising, the government-appointed Corporate Finance Committee has proposed a radical new regulatory regime in a consultative paper, shifting the emphasis to a predominantly disclosure-based philosophy of regulation, similar to the US system. Key points include:

New Zealand's personal property securities law has long been criticized by lawyers and financiers as being overly complicated and lacking in certainty. The absence of an integrated registration system for charges over personal property has created confusion and the additional expense involved has proved a disincentive to the use of personal property assets as collateral for all types of financing facilities. These problems have arisen because New Zealand's personal property securities laws are set out in a number of different statutes which provide different systems of registration and different priority rules depending on the nature of the property, the type of legal entity giving the security and the form of the security itself.

The invitation to bid for the state telecoms companies was made available to the public on June 12 1998. For the auction, set for July 29 1998, the companies have been re-structured into three groups:

The China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) has recently become one of the busiest arbitration bodies in the world, having decided about 800 cases in 1997. Effective as of May 10 1998, the CIETAC Arbitration Rules were revised in response to political and legal developments as well as criticism concerning uncertainties under the previous CIETAC Arbitration Rules.

With projects often needing amendments or waivers from financiers, the use of project agents instead of trustees has been suggested for project bonds. Richard Forster reports

After a string of national mergers at the beginning of the 1990s, German firms are shifting their focus as domestic clients look to international experience. Nick Ferguson reports from Frankfurt

Travelers Group, the US financial services group, has announced it is acquiring a 25% equity stake for US$1.6 billion in Nikko Securities, Japan's third largest broker. Nikko is also to conclude a joint venture with Travelers' investment banking arm, Salomon Smith Barney. The joint venture will be owned 51% by Nikko and 49% by Salomon Smith Barney. US firm Davis Polk & Wardwell is acting for Nikko. The team includes corporate partners Danfort Townley (Tokyo), Robert Levine (New York) and Jordan Luke (Washington), and counsel Theodore Paradise (Tokyo).

The Swiss-American investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston is buying São Paulo bank Banco Garantia. New York firms Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and Shearman & Sterling are advising on the US$675 million deal. Cleary Gottlieb is representing CSFB with a team headed by M&A and securities partners Peter Darrow and James Munsell.

The Italian Treasury has announced the sale of one billion shares, valued at L12,000 billion (US$6.68 million) in Eni, the oil and gas conglomerate. IMI and Credit Suisse First Boston, which had already worked on the sale of the third tranche, are acting as global coordinators. With the disbursment of the bonus shares — one for every 10 shares after 12 months — and exercise of the over-allotment option, the Treasury's holding in Eni could go down from 51% to 35%. US firm, Sullivan & Cromwell is representing Eni with corporate finance partner Richard Morrissey leading the team from New York.