Americas

The Argentine Province of Río Negro on Tuesday launched a consent solicitation that has already earned the support of more than half of bondholders after it improved an initial restructuring offer. But analysts warned that Argentina’s deteriorating economy was forcing provinces to be less aggressive in renegotiating their obligations.

The Dominican Republic is planning to take advantage of strong market conditions and tap its 2032 bonds to finance a buyback of four different dollar notes maturing between 2021 and 2025.

Brazilian steel producer Gerdau will repurchase $300m of dollar bonds with cash as its profits rise thanks to strong demand for steel.

A rotation into some cyclical stocks has lifted equity markets of late. But investor returns overall are still heavily reliant on a small basket of tech stocks with sky high valuations and any retreat from these names in a hurry could prompt a stock market rout.

A group of Suriname’s bondholders said they plan to support the government’s bid for a temporary debt standstill after the sovereign amended a consent solicitation to incorporate some of their requests.

Paraguay’s largest commercial lender, Banco Continental, hopes its planned issuance of sustainability bonds will be an example for other issuers to follow, stating in its sustainability bond framework that its commitment to sustainable development is “inherently linked” to Paraguay’s historical dependence on the agriculture and livestock sectors.

The merger of S&P Global and IHS Markit, announced on Monday, will create a larger data provider for financial markets.

The Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, is adding a “negative screening” process to its purchases of corporate bonds under its quantitative easing programme, meaning it will no longer buy the bonds of the most polluting companies.

Having entered default on Thursday, November 26 as the 30-day grace period on a missed coupon payment expired, Suriname has improved the terms on a consent solicitation that — if accepted by at least three quarters of bondholders — would allow it to escape the default and buy time for a more comprehensive debt restructuring.

The coronavirus pandemic means many parts of the US are experiencing an unusual festive period. But emerging markets sovereigns broke another Thanksgiving tradition by flooding primary bond markets with new deals on what is usually a quiet week for new issues — even as levels of stress are rising sharply at the riskier end of the asset class. Oliver West and Mariam Meskin report.

The Province of Neuquén has become the fourth Argentine regional or local government to wrap up a debt restructuring this year. But with most provincial issuers struggling to reach agreements with creditors, several provinces’ bondholders have joined forces to bolster their negotiating position. This may help bondholders force the provinces to offer deals that are better than those the national government wants both sides to make.

MUFG is overhauling personnel and its business model to try to escape a cycle of low returns, writes David Rothnie.