Americas

Public sector borrowers tore $10bn of funding from the dollar market on Tuesday, shaving several basis points from initial price thoughts in the process. Only one benchmark is on screens for Wednesday, but SSA bankers expect next week’s run-up to the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president on January 20 will be — in Trump terminology — “huge”.

The Nodal Exchange, a North American energy derivatives market place, has introduced Mid-Columbia power futures contracts.

IHS Markit has unveiled a solution aimed at helping market participants meet withholding tax obligations on US equity derivatives arising from the newly imposed section 871(m) rule.

Bond bankers were struggling to remember a time when a single-B credit had provided the first LatAm deal of the year, but Petrobras’ new issue succeeded in blowing the market wide open as borrowers line up to raise funding.

CME Europe is consulting with the derivatives market, having proposed to overhaul its exchange rulebook following reauthorisation under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).

Use of blockchain technology in the derivatives market progressed beyond the proof of concept (POC) phase this week, with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) moving to take distributed ledger into the heart of its operation.

BRF, the Brazilian food conglomerate, has confirmed that it is considering London for an IPO of its halal food business, although a final decision has not been made.

Petrobras has opened books on the first non-Asian emerging markets bond of the year, and is marketing a four-tranche dollar bond.

Fast growing Argentine energy company Pampa Energía will begin investor meetings on Tuesday as it plans a much anticipated debut bond sale to refinance loans used to purchase Petrobras’ Argentine operations last year.

Dominican airport operator Aerodom’s move to use most of the proceeds from its upcoming debt issue to buy back existing bonds is credit positive, according to Standard & Poor’s.

The dollar covered bond market is in good shape, and it seems likely that issuers will want to follow the success of Bank of Montreal which last Wednesday issued the first benchmark of the year at a cheaper cost and in larger size than its previous deal issued six month ago.

Six Latin American issuers announced plans to meet investors within two days this week as bankers said that there was no time like the present for the region’s borrowers to carry out funding plans.