Americas

With the world’s most important asset managers taking a more active role in sovereign debt restructuring negotiations, the once niche topic of collective action clauses (CACs) is set to rise up the capital markets agenda as participants debate whether adjustments made by Argentina and Ecuador to the 2014 ICMA CACs should become common practice.

Johnson & Johnson raced to the dollar bond market on Thursday with a quick-fire acquisition financing that raised $7.5bn, pushing issuance in August within sight of $100bn for the first time.

UBS reckons it has a hit upon a ‘unique formula’ for growth as it expands its investment banking offering to its high net worth clients, writes David Rothnie.

Gillmann to join Barclays for logistics — Citi picks new Nigeria head — Charles, Habeck hired by Greensill

VOLQ futures, a contract based on the Nasdaq 100 volatility index, is set to be available in time for investors to hedge potential volatility as a result of the US presidential election. Tim McCourt, global head of equity index and alternative investments at CME Group — which is launching the product — said that investors could use VOLQ in conjunction with the VIX, run by rival CBOE Global Markets.

Momentum in the burgeoning green convertible bond market has continued this week with a new $125m issue from Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital Inc (HASI), the New York-listed real estate investment trust focused on sustainable properties and assets.

Colombian airline Avianca’s senior secured bondholders will be able to recover around 45% of their principal if they agree to provide debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to the company, which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings since May.

Over $2.4bn of new convertible bonds have been issued into the US equity-linked market so far this week with the pace of deals showing little sign of slowing down in August, a traditionally quieter month of the year in other regions.

Nasdaq-listed Futu Holdings, parent of Chinese online brokerage Futu Securities, has raised $313.5m from a follow-on offering, hitting the market on the back of a more than 200% surge in its share price this year.

Holders of the Province of Neuquén’s unsecured bonds due in 2025 said on Tuesday that they had organised to “defend and protect” their rights as they followed the Argentine region’s secured creditors in rejecting its exchange offer.

Argentina finally filed its official updated debt restructuring proposal this week and, as expected, drew the support of bondholders. But the bigger news may be in the small print, as sovereign debt experts immediately began to examine the changes implemented to the bonds' collective action clauses (CACs).

The fear of a volatile and bitterly contested US election between Donald Trump and Democratic Party challenger Joe Biden is likely to create a keen sense of urgency for companies seeking to sell equity when the European market reopens at the end of this month.