Year of drama for EM as politics take centre stage

Frenetic bond issuance at the start of the year smashed records for volumes in CEEMEA as borrowers sought to get ahead of rising US rates. But although the US’s hiking trajectory was the main concern at the start of the year, political spice, currency crises, sanctions and bailouts all combined to beat up EM bond markets in 2018. By Francesca Young and Oliver West