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Andrea Orcel, the new CEO of UniCredit, may be annoyed to be upstaged by Avalon Penrose, an actor whose hilarious and heart-tugging Twitter video about the GameStop share maelstrom has captured the insanity of stock markets. But these are the frothy markets we live in now.

The European Union continued where it left off last year as it returned to the bond market this week with another jumbo deal that attracted a huge order book for the first deal of the year under its Support to Mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) funding programme.

Hong Kong’s government returned to the green bond market with a $2.5bn triple-tranche deal this week, making the most of growing investor demand for sustainable investment opportunities. Morgan Davis reports.

Tesco, the UK grocer, made a storming debut in the nascent sustainability-linked bond market on Wednesday, encouraging bankers who already expect corporate issuance using the novel structure to rocket this year.

A new era has begun in the US, with the swearing in of Joe Biden as president. For America and the rest of the world it is a sea change in leadership style and political substance.

Chinese vape company RLX Technology raised $1.4bn from its US listing this week, pricing the deal above the marketed range after a huge turnout from investors.

This week’s burst of covered bonds was exceptionally well received and boosted supply hopes. But even though the funding was cheap and deal execution certain, the supply outlook remains grim.

A book of more than €55bn for a €10bn bond priced with a new issue premium of 1bp would be a gratifying outcome for any sovereign issuer. But Wednesday's syndication for Spain instead attracted robust criticism over price moves during bookbuilding which derailed what was on course to be the biggest order book in bond market history.

Thiel Capital, the investment firm of billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, this week launched its second southeast Asia special purpose acquisition company (Spac) in less than four months. The deal marks a coming trend in Asia-focused ‘blank cheque companies’, say bankers. Jonathan Breen reports.

Leading US financial institutions were quick to condemn the shocking attacks on the US Capitol on Wednesday — a sign that they are willing to take positions on important social issues, in line with the industry’s eagerness to align with good environmental, social and governance standards.

Latin American DCM bankers hailed Brazilian paper company Klabin’s first sustainability-linked bond (SLB) as an encouraging sign for the ESG debt market in the region, as a huge order book allowed the issuer to tighten by 55bp from initial price thoughts and land well inside its curve.

The Republic of Indonesia kicked off its 2021 bond issuance this week with a $3bn deal in dollars, split across 10 year, 30 year and 50 year notes, as well as a €1bn tranche.