It was brave faces all round last week, as embattled banks sought to tackle rumours of more unpleasant write-downs to come. Lehman was struggling against speculation that it was a takeover target, while Deutsche Bank and UBS followed the current trend for sneak previews of forthcoming results. Mark Baker reports.

European borrowers have endured a rollercoaster first half of 2008, with the almost universal downbeat sentiment of the first quarter giving way to a more encouraging second. This confidence faded as the start of the second half approached, however, and talk now is that only the loftiest of credits will find the markets open to them. Back to where we were at the beginning of the year, in fact.

The secondary European securitisation market is once again testing wides established at the height of the sell-off in March. Despite the concerted effort by central banks to support the market, things are expected to get worse over the summer. Jean-Marc Poilpre reports.

Plans to introduce a compression platform designed to reduce operational risk in the CDS market are moving ahead quickly. All of the exposure resulting from trades completed with multiple counterparties will now be placed with just one counterparty, dramatically increasing efficiency but also – paradoxically – potentially increasing counterparty risk. Owen Wild reports.

The rocky first half of 2008 tightened tenors, widened margins and put banks on their mettle to get the best possible return on capital, all shifts that will not be reversed in the second half of the year as the economic climate worsens and banks focus on those credits where they are sure credit is due. Ouida Taaffe reports

Leveraged volumes and average deal sizes crept up in the second quarter while underwriting groups shrank. However, with secondary markets sharply wider and liquidity for the rest of the year far from secure, there is a sense among market watchers that the best of 2008 could have passed. Donal O'Donovan and Michelle Sierra report.

Hopes that March would mark the credit crisis nadir have unravelled, with negative financial headlines and the deteriorating global economic outlook savaging sentiment once more. Ukraine was one of several issuers to pull deals last week as the EM primary market faces an uncertain future again, a year after the credit crunch first erupted. John Weavers reports.

Taylor Wimpey is facing collapse after failing to attract investor support for a placing and open offer. Bradford & Bingley has had to structure its rights issue for the third time. The £20bn of capital increases in the UK have taken their toll. Investors now have the upper hand in pricing and structuring and in some cases are saying no, whatever the consequences. Owen Wild reports.

Commodity inflation is wreaking havoc across the capital markets. As companies struggle to pass on rising raw material prices, convertible bonds are one viable financing option. Foreign capital is another. Smithfield Foods tapped both for a combined US$475m that will bridge its working capital needs until conditions improve. Stephen Lacey reports.