Americas

Downgrades from two rating agencies crowned a disastrous week for Argentine assets, and there was no relief over the weekend as the finance minister resigned and the country’s likely next president appeared to hint at the possibility of debt restructuring.

LiquidityEdge, which operates an electronic marketplace for US Treasuries, could now look at offering a similar service in the European government bond market after its purchase by MarketAxess. The latter’s president, Chris Concannon, sees the pressure European banks face to cut costs as a boon for trading automation in the region.

The US corporate bond market continued to crank out investment grade deals despite fears of a global recession battering risk assets this week.

A surprise result in last Sunday's primary elections in Argentina triggered hefty losses for emerging market investors this week. Many feared another sovereign default as Argentina assets, and its currency, took an absolute kicking. But by Thursday, writes Oliver West, some felt that bruised and battered investors could be missing out on a chance to snap up cheap assets.

Colombian airline Avianca is offering bondholders the chance to swap unsecured bonds at par for new secured debt as it looks to stave off a looming maturity and clinch $250m of shareholder funding. The airline’s CFO said on Thursday that he felt positive the exchange would go ahead in its existing form.

Market participants are confident that FIG issuance will pick up next week but there are concerns around secondary performance. They are likely to pay close attention to how this week’s deals from Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse fare before marketing their own.

US corporates are turning to convertible bonds to finance themselves while it is still possible to achieve attractive terms, before the economic outlook deteriorates, leading to the best two weeks of issuance volume in 2019.

HSBC’s chief executive was dislodged by the force of the challenges facing the bank. Now, its global markets division is under pressure as senior management continues with reform, writes David Rothnie.

The two to 10 year section of the Gilt market inverted on Wednesday and 30 year US debt yields fell below 2%, strengthening portents that the UK is headed for a recession, though SSA bankers showed no concern about the moves.

Colombian airline Avianca is offering bondholders the chance to swap unsecured bonds at par for new secured debt as it looks to stave off a looming maturity and clinch $250m of shareholder funding.

Credit Suisse sold a dollar-denominated additional tier one (AT1) bond on Wednesday. Despite hefty demand for the notes, the issuer only revised the pricing by a small margin as market turmoil increased through the day.

Acadia Healthcare, which owns UK mental healthcare provider the Priory Group, needs the consent of lenders if it wants to go through with its plan to sell the company, a research company says. US-based Acadia could be forced to use the proceeds of the sale to deleverage.