Europe

DNA, one of Finland’s largest telecommunications companies, closed at €10.10 on its stock exchange debut on Thursday, after pricing its €413m IPO in the lower middle of its range.

Market participants are nervously awaiting the results of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena’s debt-for-equity swap, which could derail the Italian lender’s ambitious rescue plan — notwithstanding any potential volatility following the country’s referendum on Sunday.

Arcus, the Norwegian distiller owned by private equity group Ratos, made its debut on the Nasdaq Oslo on Thursday after its Nkr1.7bn (€196m) IPO that was multiple times covered.

Pressure mounted on Italian sovereign bonds and credit default swaps this week, as rumours of increased European Central Bank support were quickly dampened and traders positioned for a 'No' vote in this weekend’s referendum.

Kommunalbanken raised A$40m ($29.7m) from an Australian dollar tap on Tuesday after sole-arranger Daiwa found two more Japanese life insurers to take an earlier reverse enquiry above the Norwegian agency's minimum size of A$30m.

Barclays was looking to sell seven year senior debt from its holding company on Thursday, with the trade unaffected by the lender’s weak performance this week in the Bank of England’s 2016 stress test.

When a company announces that it is increasing the amount paid out to shareholders, it is not typically greeted with enthusiasm by credit investors. But Glencore is no ordinary company in the credit default swap world, and its announcement on Thursday wasn’t a standard change in financial policy.

The UK's United Biscuits is now rated B1 after a one notch downgrade by Moody’s on Thursday.

German brake systems manufacturer Knorr Bremse has returned to the euro bond market nearly 14 years after it last sold a new issue to investors.

Dutch construction company Royal BAM Group has refinanced a €417.5m revolving credit facility due to mature in 2018, with a smaller loan of €400m with tighter pricing, after printing a €125m convertible bond in June.

The European Central Bank, the European Commission and the European Banking Authority are pulling in different directions when it comes to covered bonds with extendible maturity structures. Time for a bit of harmonisation.

Swedbank became the third non-UK issuer to launch a sterling covered bond since September with a rare five year offer on Wednesday.