Europe

Veolia Environnement, the French water, waste and power company, joined on Tuesday the parade of investment grade blue chip companies launching convertible bonds at attractive terms — in this case, a negative yield and very high conversion premium.

All bonds great and small from the Iberian market were available on Tuesday, as the Spanish sovereign brought a long-awaited 30 year syndication and the Community of the Basque Country made a rare visit to the market.

Issuers lined up to print in euros on Tuesday as a vital European Central Bank meeting loomed later in the week — but bankers were divided as to how much the flurry of deals was down to concerns over the central bank meeting.

SMCP, the French fashion firm controlled by KKR, registered its document de base with regulators on Tuesday, in the first step towards a possible IPO.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney confirmed to the UK parliament on Tuesday what currency traders and analysts have been saying for weeks: worries about the EU referendum are causing higher prices for sterling options and raising the risk of a sharp fall in the pound.

UK property group Hammerson came to the corporate bond market on Tuesday with a €500m offering, as deal flow hit a more subdued tone ahead of the European Central Bank’s Thursday meeting.

Moody’s on Tuesday cut the rating of Obrascón Huarte Lain, the Spanish construction company which last week tried to repay a €300m 2020 bond to rein in its debt.

Bell, the Swiss meat producer, returned to the Swiss franc bond market with a Sfr300m nine year note on Tuesday, its first issue in the currency since 2013.

KOKS Finance and Dubai Holding are looking to buy back part or all of their dollar notes due 2016 and 2017, respectively.

Ten of the 11 banks that underwrote Saipem’s €3.5bn rights issue sold the bulk of their remaining overhang in the stock in a block trade on Monday night, making a gain. But Banca Imi decided to take the riskier path of selling its holdings by itself at a later date.

Holders of $750m of Ukrainian poultry producer, MHP’s debt have refused to accept amendments to the bond which would prevent a covenant breach.

Berlin Hyp (BHH) issued the first negative yielding fixed rate euro covered bond on Tuesday, days before the European Central Bank is expected to lower the discount rate into even more negative territory.