Americas

Calm returned to US large cap stocks this week, but implied volatility measures have remained higher than pre-spike averages as investors remain cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week.

Mizuho has hired Richard Thompson as co-head of US private placements.

Brazil’s downgrade to junk will come as little surprise to market observers, given the increasingly bearish sentiment seen in Brazilian sovereign bonds.

Intesa Sanpaolo will price a 10 year AT1 note this week, becoming the latest European bank to enter the capital market after ABN Amro announced its inaugural euro AT1 deal yesterday morning.

Chilean government-owned copper miner Codelco raised $2bn of 10 year notes on Wednesday in a deal that provoked debate about the size of the new issue premium but was unanimously considered a positive for the LatAm market.

Standard & Poor’s put the Brazilian sovereign into sub-investment grade territory late on Wednesday in a move that came sooner than most had expected but had already been accepted as inevitable.

Caisse Centrale Desjardins (CCDJ) launched a two year floating rate note on Wednesday, making itself a belated addition to last week’s list of Canadian banks printing euro floaters.

General Shopping Brasil has exercised its right to defer the payment of interest on its $150m 12% perpetual subordinated notes, meeting the expectations of credit analysts.

The International Finance Corp (IFC) opened books on its second ever Islamic bond deal on Tuesday, a rare amortising sukuk and one of two SSA Islamic deals scheduled for September.

Barclays began marketing a multi-tranche Samurai trade on Monday, as some FIG bankers claimed European banks were still baulking at the new issue premiums being offered by US visitors to the euro market.

Bond prices in the secondary market, alongside recent analyst reports, suggest a belief that Venezuela will meet its immediate debt obligations. But the prospects for next year appear murkier.

The release of non-farm payroll data in the US did not deter Goldman Sachs from entering the senior unsecured market on Friday, as it became the latest in a line of North American banks to issue euro floaters.