Coronavirus

Europe’s corporate bond new issue market burst back into life on Friday after a nine day coma with two emphatic, big, generously priced deals from impeccable issuers — exactly the pattern of issuance, although on a smaller scale, that the US market has produced on three days this week. Engie and Unilever raised €4.5bn between them, most of it from investors working at home amid coronavirus quarantines.

L-Bank postponed its dollar transaction on Thursday after not receiving enough orders for the targeted deal size. The trade had been structured as an auction, with investors invited to place bids over their desired level versus mid-swaps. After taking indications of interest, no further updates followed.

Could EU member states finally come together to issue a common debt instrument? In this article, GlobalCapital takes a look at the key issues.

Despite the terrible effects of the coronavirus pandemic on capital markets, the MTN market is open and functioning.

L-Bank brought a novel approach to sell a two year dollar deal on Thursday that could help other borrowers navigate volatile markets, with investors invited to place bids for the trade over their desired level versus mid-swaps.

The Bank of England said on Friday morning that UK banks should not treat coronavirus-impacted exposures as impaired assets under IFRS 9 accounting standards, as it unveiled new guidance around the impact of the pandemic.

Hotel Chocolat, the UK chocolatier and retailer, sold 9.77m new shares after revealing that its revenues in March have been damaged by the Covid-19 coronavirus; the company hopes the capital will give it flexibility in the weeks and months ahead. More UK SMEs will no doubt follow it to market over the next few weeks.

Corporate funding markets have been thrown into turmoil faster than anyone can remember by the aggressive onslaught of the coronavirus and government measures to put society in emergency shutdown. Borrowing costs have soared for all firms, but markets are not closed. As Jon Hay, David Rothnie and Silas Brown report, the coming weeks will sort those that can still raise cash from those that need rescuing.

Emerging market bond conditions got worse and worse this week as investors struggled to sell bonds quickly enough to keep up with outflows. Though some investors said they had lined up a shopping list of cheap purchases, it could be some time before they decide to pounce.

Central banks attacked the coronavirus threat this week, promising swathes of new money on an unprecedented scale to help fund governments’ colossal new fiscal commitments. Bond markets reacted with relief to the swathe of multi-billion programmes aimed at fending off global financial meltdown.

A broken bond market is incapable of providing emerging markets issuers with funding as the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the oil crash run riot. Official institutions’ support is needed, after the asset class took a brutal beating this week, write Ross Lancaster and Oliver West.

Investment grade corporate and financial institution borrowers showed their strength with more than $44bn of US bond issuance in two frenetic windows this week, after central banks took emergency action to avert a global depression.