It is difficult to credit that this is already the third issue of The Treasurer in the year 2000. Some signs of spring are already visible here in the south as I write. The Easter break will soon be upon us and we will all be looking towards summer. These changing seasons are of course a part of life which we in these islands have come to expect as normality (even if we think they should alter a bit less swiftly). But what can one say of the cataclysmic changes which, even in the few weeks which have passed this year, have made the familiar scenery of the industrial and commercial environment dramatically and irreversibly unrecognisable. Growth is (and always has been?) a necessary feature of the economic universe in which we all operate, but it does appear that in the frenetic race for the new heights of efficiency the scale of change has itself attained unprecedented heights. Against this new and awesome mega-economy there is an exciting, almost subversive, movement in the virtual universe where the small provider of goods and services has a possibility of competing with the big guys. For this reason, if for no other, this month’s Spotlight is great. The Spotlight covers the current hot topic, namely e-business. Its aim is to provide a broad background on how it might affect the business as a whole. In future months we will identify more closely those areas of e-business which affect treasury directly. This edition also covers BTP’s E40m loan which was the first to be structured, denominated and documented in euro and placed directly with a US institutional investor; assignment clauses in loan agreements; recent tax changes for personal service companies; and an insight into the benefits and challenges presented by the Association’s CPD programme, due to be launched in April. The international focus falls on Japan’s economy, recent tax changes, the expansion of the Japanese loan market and a recent deal by Cable & Wireless. We also include a supplement for the Association’s ‘Treasury Technology and Cash Management 2000’ conference and exhibition on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 March. Samantha Wren provides an insight into how Rank chose its treasury management system and John Salter of Deutsche Bank looks at the post-sales experience for cash management systems. Finally, we bid farewell to Steve Ward, our publications designer. We would like to thank him for his work on improving the quality of design and layout in The Treasurer. ARTHUR BURGESS
