The January/February 2004 Issue contains the following articles:

·               Trade Services 2003 In Review - Jacob Katsman speaks with Wachovia’s John McFadden and Chris Wilmot, HVB’s Markus Wohlgeschaffen and CGE&Y’s Urs Kern about the trends developed in the trade services industry in 2003 and what to expect in 2004.

·               Doc Credit Clinic 2004/1 - Vincent O’Brien tackles practical problems recently submitted to L/C Monitor.

·               Discrepancy Fee Or Not To Be - Kim Christensen examines the subject of discrepancy fees suggesting how the process of handling discrepant documents may be improved in the upcoming revision of UCP.

·               Getting Export Finance: Two Tips For Small Exporters - Ravi Mehta teaches new exporters how to approach banks in obtaining financing for export orders.

·               Making A Mountain Out Of A Molehill - The Price Of Obstinance - Robert M. Rosenblith uses the case of Employers Insurance of Wausau -v- El Banco Seguros del Estado to illustrate the possible consequences of not following a lawful court order issued by a U.S. court.

·               Paying Bank Rues Costly Mistake - Robert M. Parson follows Gulf International Bank BSC -v- Albara Islamic Bank through the court of appeal reminding paying banks where their obligations begin and end.

The March/April 2004 Issue contains the following articles:

·               Doc Prep Understood - When a banker says: ‘We are looking for doc prep solutions,’ what does this mean?  LCM does the research and presents findings in part one of a two part feature.

·               Innovative Way To Use LC As Financing Tool - LCM Editors comment on a request from India where a garment exporter wishes to solicit LCs to be issued in its favor for the purpose of creative financing.

·               Can Consignee In A Bill of Lading Be Changed Under The LC Transfer? - Alan C.Y. Liu asks LCM’s Editors to comment on the question: Can Consignee in a bill of lading be changed under the LC transfer?

·               Mixing The Trade Services Cocktail - Urs Kern ‘mixes the trade services cocktail’ arguing that customer process orientation, collaboration, and standardization are the trends of today and are here to stay.

·               What Time Is It? - Kim Christensen suggests that as the revision of the UCP 500 is speeding ahead perhaps it is time to pause and reflect on the direction and goal of this work in progress.

·               Different Address Of The Beneficiary In A Commercial Invoice - T.O. Lee examines ISBP, ICC Opinions and legal cases concerning different Name and Address of the Beneficiary appearing in a Commercial Invoice.

·               Payment To Be Secured By LC - Robert M. Parson analyses Kronos Worldwide Ltd – v- Sempra Oil Trading SARL pointing out the importance of having a letter of credit established at the time specified in the sales contract.

The May/June 2004 Issue contains the following articles:

·               The New Face Of Bolero - LCM speaks with Arthur Vonchek the new CEO of Bolero
International about the past, present and future of Bolero.

·               Doc. Credit Clinic - Vincent O’Brien tackles some practical problems recently submitted to LC Monitor.

·               Notice Of Refusal Has Plagued LC Issuers Again? Alan C.Y. Liu presents a collection of LC stipulations concerning Notice of Refusal, which makes for an interesting and educational reading.

·               A Proposed Convention For eCommerce - George F. Chandler, III reports that the U.N. Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is exploring the possibility of transforming the Model Law on Electronic Commerce into a convention, pointing out what will not be included in this instrument.

·               A Bill Of Lading Is A Bill Of Lading Is A Bill Of Lading - Kim Christensen argues that a heavily debated area concerning, ‘Clauses’ in bills of lading that allow the carrier to release goods without the original B/L, has been left without a position from the ICC.

·               Doc Prep Understood - LCM features Part II of ‘Doc Prep Understood’ examining Document Preparation Services.

·               Mashine VS. Machine - Dr. Ravi Mehta chairs an international debate over implications of ISBP Paragraph 28 dealing with misspellings or typing errors that do not affect the meaning of a word or the sentence in which it occurs and what should or should not be considered a discrepancy.

The July/August 2004 Issue contains the following articles:

·               GlobalTrade To Launch New Products At SIBOS - GlobalTrade founders Jacob Katsman and Nick Pachnev share industry views and provide insight into the two new multibanking products to be launched by the company at SIBOS this year.

·               Beyond Conventional Trade Finance - Jee Meng Chen illustrates challenges posed by asymmetric information in synthetic trade-finance deals.

·               A Letter Of Credit By Any Other Name Is A Letter Of Credit - Robert M. Rosenblith explains why a letter of credit even if it is not called a letter of credit is still a letter of credit.

·               Doc. Credit Clinic 2004/3 - Vincent O’Brien details why a rubber stamp should not be viewed as a replacement for original documents.

·               Exceptions To The Autonomy Of L/Cs - An Update - Robert M. Parson sheds the light on why Enron demise can affect enforceability of an issuing bank’s obligations.

·               Strange Customer Behaviour While Engaged In L/C Litigation - T.O. Lee advises on what to do and what not to do when working with an expert witness.

·               UCP 500 Revision - Ron Katz, Secretary to Banking Commission of The ICC and Editor of DC Insight, speaks with LCM’s Ravi Mehta, about the UCP 500 Revision.

The September/October 2004 Issue contains the following articles:

·               Negotiation - The Lifeblood Of Banking? - Kim Christensen uncovers the true meaning of negotiation under documentary credits.

·               SIBOS 2004 - LCM reports on the innovative trade service session at Sibos 2004.

·               Asian Bank Frauds - Jee Meng goes behind the scenes reporting on the latest bank frauds in Asia.

·               Making Sense Of Sight Payment, Deferred Payment, Acceptance and Negotiation - ’All credits must clearly indicate whether they are available by sight payment, by deferred payment, by acceptance or by negotiation.’ Practice clearly indicates that things are not clear, according to Vincent O’Brien.

·               Signing Your Bank Away - Marie Brittenden examines Pacific Carriers Ltd -v- BNP Paribas where a bank’s signature on a letter of indemnity has got the bank into hotwater.

·               Further Thoughts On the Mahonia -v- JP Morgan Chase Case - T.O. Lee takes a closer look at the Mahonia -v- JP Morgan Chase suggesting clarification from ICC Banking Commission.

·               GTC Shines At SIBOS - GTC answers the question: What do corporates want from their banks that provide trade services.

·               Reducing Discrepant Presentations - Ravi Mehta speaks with Nicole Keller of Dresdner Bank about how discrepant presentations could be reduced.

The November/December 2004 Issue contains the following articles:

·               HVB To Offer Electronic Pre-Checking Of Documents - L/C Monitor reports on how HypoVereinsbank is taking steps forward towards the removal of paper from the trade chain in the process of electronic pre-checking of documents under letters of credit.

·               Sirus L/C Autonomy Saga Is Finally Buried In Bloodless Coup - Rober M. Parson examines the case of Sirus Internatinal Insurance Company (Publ) - v - FAI General Insurance Company Ltd., suggesting that the English courts are now looking more towards commercial reality in agreements where clever arguments over semantics do not necessarily convince the Judge.

·               Negotiation East -v- West - Kim Christensen moderates a debate on negotiation. Jeremy Smith, T. O. Lee, Ravi Mehta, Soh Chee Seng, Ole Malmqvist, Neal S. Millard, Hoi Ching Cheah, Rolf Andersen and Heinz Hertl participate presenting views from East to West.

·               Asian Bank Frauds Fraud Risk Management Techniques - Jee Meng completes his feature dealing with Asian Bank Frauds started in the last issue of LCM focusing on how frauds could be prevented.

·               Creative Application Of Negotiation - T.O. Lee continues the negotiation theme with a story about an exporter that has put his banker between a rock and a hard place.