Americas

US private placement investors, who have long held firm on covenant structures, have started to notice early signs that their ranks may be breaking, and that 2020 may be a year when weaker covenant packages become more commonplace. But arrangers have resolutely dismissed this claim.

Moody's downgraded the Province of Alberta a notch on Tuesday with the rating agency blaming a “structural weakness” in the region’s economy through its dependence on non-renewable energy such as oil.

Equity investors are taking on more risk as 2019 draws to a close but a short sharp spike in volatility that began at the end of last week is giving them cause for concern.

Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual sold senior debt abroad for the first time in nearly two years on Tuesday, opting to push on despite volatile conditions as trade fears again worry investors.

Christopher Giancarlo, former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will return to the private sector in his first job since leaving the regulator.

OneConnect Financial Technology, a unit of Chinese conglomerate Ping An Group, hit the road on Tuesday to meet investors for its New York Stock Exchange IPO.

Market participants expect Uruguay’s new centre-right government to tighten fiscal policy, but rating agencies believe doing so will prove a difficult balancing act.

Peru will buy back a portion of local currency bonds maturing next year after nearly a third of the holders of the notes agreed to participate in a tender offer, bringing the sovereign’s latest liability management exercise to a close.

In this round-up, US president Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights Act into law despite trade tension with China, the Ministry of Finance allocated Rmb1tr ($142.2bn) of special project bond quotas to local governments and the Chinese State Council has set its sights on financing infrastructure projects.

Prices on Ecuador’s government bonds began to recover this week as investors and analysts said that the debt had been over-sold after President Lenin Moreno’s economic growth law was rejected last week.

Bond buyers and bankers said that a relatively quiet year for financial institution issuance in Latin America should ensure a warm reception to three banks from the region which are lining up bond deals.

Bonds issued by Mexican polyethylene producer Braskem Idesa were heavily bid on the break as investors said that the deal had been priced at a very attractive level versus comparable securities.