Americas

The strengthening dollar is wreaking havoc for emerging market bond investors as assets in local currencies and dollars alike take a hammering.

Goldman Sachs sold its largest amount of Swiss franc bonds in a single Sfr325m issue on Tuesday afternoon, encouraging hopes that the Swiss franc might be regaining its status as a global funding currency.

Primary markets in Latin America stayed silent on Tuesday amid a hefty sell-off in EM currencies, with Ecuador and Argentina continuing to provide country-specific volatility.

Investors are hedging and betting on oil prices as markets remain unsure about whether or not US President Donald Trump will pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.

A 675bp rate hike from the Argentine central bank, BCRA, on Friday finally brought some support to the peso. But the sovereign’s bonds continue to trade poorly as the currency’s recent free-fall highlighted the many vulnerabilities in the country’s economic recovery.

Central America development bank Cabei (BCIE in Spanish) has hired a new head of debt capital markets to lead its bond issuance programme.

Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE Corp, which has failed to comply with a covenant on a $450m syndicated loan due in July, has requested lenders to waive the breach, according to bankers close to the situation.

Aeropuerto de Tocumen, the airport of Panama City, was the only Latin American to raise debt in international markets this week as it raised $225m of 30 year money.

Two Argentine corporates postponed bond issues on Thursday as the Central Bank of Argentina’s (BCRA) attempts to control the fall in the peso proved fruitless, leaving investors asking questions about the country’s economic outlook. Oliver West reports.

Engineering and construction company Andrade Gutierrez Engenharia, one of the largest contractors in Latin America, failed to repay a senior unsecured bond that matured on April 30.

Apple’s announcement this week that it would launch an extra $100bn share buy-back left European markets poised for the higher yields that an exodus of American cash might bring.

The high yield bonds electric vehicle maker Tesla sold last August dropped in the secondary market on Thursday, after its first quarter earnings showed the firm spent $1.1bn of cash during the quarter and CEO Elon Musk abruptly cut off analysts who asked questions during the company’s earnings call.