Europe

Investors are upbeat about the prospects for Italian government bonds, believing that “market forces” will act as buffers to the effects of exuberant populist government policy. The sovereign should be supported at the long end during an auction this week, said some But in the core of the eurozone core, some investors are looking to keep things short.

Turkish banks are running late on their syndicated loan refinancing timetables amid political noise in the country, and loans bankers say it will soon be too late for the banks to rollover the deals and will instead have to take the unusual step of repaying the debt.

The new issue market has been stumbling from short issuance window to short issuance window since the start of June, with the periods of no issuance in between often seeing corporate bond spreads widen. That widening however, has started to create a perception among investors that there is value to be had.

In a damning assessment, a European business lobby says China’s foreign ownership reform in the financial sector has done little to help foreign firms compete in the onshore market, and calls on Beijing to grant international institutions more freedom to engage in cross-border services.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) on Tuesday priced a €4bn dual-tranche transaction, tapping into a fairly unusual tenor of 35 years.

Additional tier one will not die out in Europe if governments remove tax deductions on interest payments, but the latest debate about their fiscal status shines another light on an asset class in a state of confusion.

The news that Russia intends to plough ahead with its plans for funding in the international capital markets was greeted with some initial disbelief. At first glance, the international environment does not look good for a Russia return. But look again, and there is little reason to believe that demand for a Russian sovereign new issue would be anything but enthusiastic.

In light of recent government turmoil, GlobalCapital Frontier Markets assesses the investment case for the UK, one of Europe’s more volatile emerging markets.

Phoenix Group Holdings, the UK insurer, has capped off its £950m rights issue to finance its takeover of the European arm of Standard Life Assurance, from its parent Standard Life Aberdeen.

Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB) attracted more demand for its €500m nine year than Hypo Vorarlberg Bank (Vorhyp) did for its €500m eight year this week, even though the Austrian deal benefits from greater scarcity value.

Credit Suisse's latest additional tier one (AT1) was well above par in the secondary market on Tuesday, as some investors thought the large size of the deal would boost its trading level.

Austrian machinery maker Andritz has launched a €300m four tranche Schuldschein, with tranches of seven years and 7.75 years. A banker said the intention was to see if lenders could be lured further out along the maturity curve.