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Until the early 90s, Uruguay's capital markets looked modest. Most securities traded were public instruments issued by the Central Bank; and not many companies quoted their stock on the Montevideo Stock Exchange, the one stock exchange in place.

The relaxation of the law that prohibits companies from buying back their own shares is now under review by the Registry of Companies.

In July 1997 a special one man taskforce was appointed by the Ministry of Finance to prepare a proposal for the reorganization of the supervision of Finland's financial and insurance markets. Particular attention was to be paid to the integration and technical development of the financial and insurance markets.

The Insolvency Law Reform Act 1997 (1997 Act) contains amendments to Austrian corporate law, including statutory provisions to strengthen the supervisory board's control function in joint stock corporations (AG) and in limited liability companies (GmbH). The following reforms should more effectively prevent corporate insolvencies:

Gazprom and Shell have signed an alliance agreement to cooperate on the development of energy projects worldwide. The joint energy group will produce around 500,000 barrels a day of oil and gas condensates. As part of the alliance Shell will commit up to US$1 billion in a convertible bond to be issued by Gazprom.

The year's leading deals identified and analyzed. The deals break new ground and many are templates for future transactions. By Richard Forster, Nick Ferguson and Stephen Mulrenan

The race for MCI Communications is over. MCI's board has approved a US$37 billion takeover offer from WorldCom, far in excess of rival offers from BT and GTE. The merger will create a company with a market capitalization of US$60 billion and revenues of US$32 billion. Some of the world's leading banks and law firms assembled to advise on the deal.

Chadbourne & Parke has lost its only UK-qualified partner in its London project finance department. Martin Stewart-Smith has left the office after less than six months to join Cameron McKenna.

The planned merger between Dutch firms Loeff Claeys Verbeke, of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and the Hague's Buruma Maris, will not go ahead. Announced in July 1997, it would have taken effect from January 1 1998 (see International Financial Law Review, August 1997, page 3). According to figures compiled for the International Financial Law Review 1000 Directory, the merger would have created Holland's largest firm, and the 29th largest firm in the world. The move reflects events three years ago, when Buruma Maris rebuffed the possibility of merger with Loeff Claeys.

We are living at a time when electronic commerce is becoming an increasingly important factor in the world of business and finance. Yet the law has only begun to formulate principles and rules to govern these new methods of communication.