Americas

The West Texas Intermediate light, sweet crude oil futures on CME Group’s Nymex exchange have swelled to record open interest this week, as the oil price has leapt 12% higher in the last three weeks.

Investment boutique Green Ash became the newest player in the corporate high yield market this week, with its short dated speculative grade bond strategy set to include a large allocation to UK credit.

QBE is set to become the first financial institution to issue a social bond as hybrid capital. The Australian insurance company picked banks on Thursday to arrange the sale of an additional tier one (AT1), the proceeds of which will be used in accordance with its gender-equality bond framework.

Argentina has released price guidance for a €2.5bn triple tranche bond at levels a trader in London described as shockingly wide, while investors started to fret about how much debt the country takes on.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China closed a $1.5bn three tranche deal through its New York branch on Wednesday, finally closing the 10 year bond sale it hoped to do last year.

A trio of Chinese firms begun pursuing IPOs in the US this week that could raise more than $1bn between them.

Latin American power generation and distribution holding company Inkia Energy is likely to sell a new 10 year non-call five bond on Thursday after wrapping up investor meetings on Wednesday.

Argentine lender Banco Hipotecario returned to the international markets with a peso-linked deal on Wednesday, becoming the fourth Latin American issuer to sell global local currency bonds in two weeks.

Emerging market investors are tuned into the reality TV show turned real life saga of Who Will Be The Next Fed Chair, with Janet Yellen’s replacement expected to be announced on Thursday.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is marketing a dollar bond deal spanning three tranches through its New York branch.

Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) offered an attractive premium to the Colombian government, said analysts, after beating FX volatility to issue the largest ever global Colombian peso deal on Tuesday.

BBVA is shuffling several senior bankers in its global project finance team, after its global head of energy project finance departed to take up a role at ING Capital in New York.