Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

Three new high yield issues were launched into marketing in Europe on Tuesday, including a pay-if-you-can bond, even though the market was a bit weaker after President Donald Trump’s sabre-rattling about raising trade tariffs on China.

Turkey’s national election board has cancelled the results of the Istanbul mayoral race that president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling party lost in March and ordered a rerun. This is widely thought of internationally as a blow to democracy, and in Istanbul citizens have taken to the streets in protest. But Erdoğan’s behaviour has been so unpredictable in the past year that there is hope the rerun in June will be free and fair enough for investors to breathe easy. It seems a bet made more in hope than expectation.

Czech Railways (České dráhy), the 100% state-owned Czech national railway operator, is embarking on a European roadshow for a seven year bond.

Emerging market bankers and investors have been reacting to this week's attempt by the Venezuelan opposition to unseat president Nicolás Maduro, with some worrying that Russia's support for the government once again raises the risk of sanctions against that country.

Allegro, the Polish e-commerce platform, is raising Z2bn (€470m) in a dividend recapitalisation, according to bankers. The deal, one of the biggest CEE loans in this year’s pipeline, is being led by three local and international lenders, although some market participants said the Polish banks would be capable of providing all the money.

Garanti Bank will refinance part of an existing $1.4bn loan by mid-May, joining four other banks amid the Turkish refi season. Although one year spreads have widened slightly in the secondary market, largely due to the weakening lira, bankers believe Turkish financial institution debt is still attractive.

Republican senator Lindsay Graham called for more sanctions on Russia over the weekend, but the threat of these sanctions seems to have become toothless, as foreigners' appetite for exposure to Russia and the rouble has increased in the last few months.

EPP NV, a Polish firm that owns malls and office buildings, raised over €90m of equity capital in Johannesburg on Wednesday last week.

VakifBank is the latest Turkish bank to refinance its existing debt, managing to secure a roll-over ratio of 100%.

Argentina and Turkey are firmly established as volatile names in emerging market credit. Both sovereigns have political and economic issues that place them in the highly vulnerable bracket.

Turkey’s central bank on Thursday kept its policy rate at 24% and removed a commitment to tighten monetary conditions further if needed. The announcement disappointed investors, and is expected to intensify the sell-off in the lira.

Ukraine might be angling for an opportunity to issue a Eurobond, but with a new president-elect unsettling capital markets and IMF relations best described as frosty, investors would rather the sovereign held off.