Americas

Issuers from across the SSA galaxy enjoyed smoothly executed deals all along the euro curve, including one touching down in the currency for the first time.

US financial regulators have proposed new rules that would make it easier for banks to be active in business such as repo and clearing, which were hit hard by post-crisis tightening of leverage ratios.

Canadian banks and pension funds led a rush of Yankee issuance this week, as they jumped at the chance to tap the dollar market while US banks remained on the sidelines in the run-up to first quarter earnings season.

A decent start to the week gave way to caution as escalating geopolitical concerns slammed the brakes on US high-grade dollar supply.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) responded scathingly to attempts by market participants to “narrowly” trigger credit events that result in favourable pay-outs to buyers of credit default swaps. Costas Mourselas reports.

A recent string of defaults in the US high yield bond market, particularly in the retail and supermarkets sectors, has not caused undue concern among market players, with most of the situations already factored into assumptions.

Some US private placement investors in London are investing more time and resources on bilateral US PP transactions that do not involve either syndication or agent banks, so as to gain full allocations and originate their own business.

Chinese photovoltaics company Daqo New Energy Corp is looking to raise up to $112m from a follow-on offering of American Depository Shares (ADS).

Cometa Energía, a group of Mexican energy assets to be acquired by emerging markets private equity firm Actis, is understood to be preparing a bond issue of $907m that will be used to finance the buy-out.

The Province of Alberta printed its first ever euro bond on Wednesday, opting to follow its compatriot Ontario in attacking the sweet spot for investors at seven years.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association this week asked its members for feedback on the potential integration of smart contract functionality into the definitions that govern derivatives transactions.

Moody’s said that it believed fiscal reforms in Brazil were inevitable no matter who wins October’s election, removing the country’s negative outlook just weeks after the rating agency’s peers downgraded the sovereign.