Americas

With the year's end fast approaching, SSA issuers are jostling for space after a summer blighted by volatility. Investors are rewarding pragmatic borrowers with large order books but it seems there is little room for opportunism.

Borrowers enjoyed tight pricing in the US market this week, as a sharp drop in supply helped bring stability to the market and triggered a fall in new issue premiums.

Teva, the New York-listed Israeli pharmaceutical company, held a meeting with banks on Wednesday for the syndication of $33.75bn of loans to buy generic drug business Allergan Generics.

Wednesday’s shock market development saw short-selling research firm Citron allege that biotech firm Valeant Pharmaceutical inflated its sales figures by selling to “phantom captive pharmacies” in a plot reminiscent of the Enron scandal of over a decade ago.

Three dollar issuers found no lack of demand at the short end when printing a trifecta of 2018s this week but tougher markets played into more defensive pricing strategies — at least in the early stages.

Export Development Canada printed the third three year dollar deal in as many days on Thursday, suggesting that investor demand for short dated dollar debt is by no means sated.

Wells Fargo printed an impressive second Swiss franc deal for the year on Thursday, attracting strong demand not only from retail and private banking investors but also asset managers, insurance and pension funds.

A struggling nuevo sol is turning Peru’s companies rapidly away from international bond markets as the issuer of the tightest Peruvian corporate bond ever looks to rid itself of all dollar exposure.

A second Canadian SSA issuer is bringing a deal in the week that the country elected a new government — but has opted for a different core currency to its compatriot.

Province of Quebec has printed the first euro benchmark from a Canadian SSA since Ontario pulled a deal earlier this month. Though subscribed, the €750m 10 year deal was not the blowout bankers were hoping for and is indicative of a tough market environment.

Options and futures markets in gold and other precious metals have paused in their recent rally, in advance of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on October 27-28.

A year after issuing its last euro denominated benchmark, Caisse Centrale Desjardins du Quebec (CCDJ) has mandated leads for a European roadshow.