Coronavirus

China’s State Council has unveiled details on yet another stimulus package to support its economy, including more local government bonds, lower interest for loans and a potential cut in the reserve requirement ratio for smaller banks.

The Bank of England threatened to use its ‘supervisory powers’ on UK banks if they did not agree to suspend dividend distributions this year and stop paying cash bonuses to staff. The instructions do not apply to the equity-like CCDS instruments issued by building societies.

The primary corporate bond market in Europe threw up another blistering day on Wednesday, with seven issuers on screens by mid-morning, bringing the number of deals so far this week to 18, though bond syndicate desks are hesitant to compare this crisis market with the record-breaking issuance in 2009.

Indian debt issuers are starting to feel the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced a country-wide lockdown for three weeks. With dollar bonds slumping in the secondary market and downgrades coming fast, the outlook for borrowers is bleak.

Emerging market bonds are trying to catch the same bid that has gripped investment grade markets, particularly in the US. Now, Latin America borrowers are scavenging once more for chances to print new issues.

If regulators won’t turn off banks' additional tier one capital coupons during the coronavirus crisis, they will never find reason to.

A financial industry fightback against bans on short selling by some jurisdictions is picking up pace, as lobbyists argued against the restrictions this week.

If Europe's corporate bond lead managers have been learning that it is possible to bring new issues even on a day when stock markets are falling and credit spreads widening, they still know a bullish day when they see one, and Tuesday was one.

Canadian banks are among the largest, most profitable and best rated in the world, but that does not grant them immunity from liquidity bottlenecks. A recent spree of deals — although in some ways a show of might — illustrated that even the most fortified of lenders can appear vulnerable.

The European Stability Mechanism has added a new 12-month bill programme for the second quarter as it looks to manage its collateral requirements amid volatility in rates. ESM and the European Financial Stability Facility have also set out their issuance windows for benchmark deals in April to June.

Equity capital markets in Europe got off to a great start in the first quarter of 2020, but any optimism about more deal flow has swiftly been killed off by the onset of a global equity market sell-off sparked by the spread of the coronavirus across the globe and the shutdown of major economies.

Carnival Cruises, the world’s largest leisure travel company, is rolling the dice on a coronavirus rescue package, launching a $1.25bn underwritten rights issue, $1.75bn convertible bond, and a $3bn dual currency high yield bond.