Europe

Rampant demand in the convertible bond market, which has produced a run of deals at very attractive terms for issuers, brought two more borrowers into the market on Wednesday with debut deals, Total and Brenntag. But the deals’ execution suggested it might be time for a breather.

On Wednesday, the same day as Total's debut convertible, came another inaugural deal, from Brenntag, the German chemicals distributor, which has a €7.7bn market cap — dwarfed by Total’s €113bn.

Iliad, the unrated French telecoms company, issued a benchmark euro bond on Thursday, returning to the market after a four year absence.

Italy added to a week of record low auction yields for the eurozone periphery on Thursday — and more could be on the way as the sovereign lines up to sell longer dated debt on Friday.

The Canton of Aargau launched a dual tranche deal on Thursday, its first bond since 2010, with one leg carrying a negative yield.

Exor, the BBB+ rated, listed holding company controlled by the Agnelli family, issued a benchmark seven year bond on Thursday.

An aura of misery has hung over fixed income businesses for years. UBS slashed its business in 2012; now Deutsche, Barclays, Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered are also taking “tough decisions” about the size of their bonds businesses. So it was a pleasant surprise to see Alain Gallois, head of fixed income at Natixis, in good spirits.

Allied Irish Banks (AIB) achieved tight pricing for its debut additional tier one on Thursday, profiting from the momentum of last week's tier two transaction.

Holders of City of Kiev’s Eurobonds could reject restructuring proposals at a meeting in London on December 8, according to analysts in Ukraine.

Swedbank bucked a trend of issuers turning to covered bonds for funding on Thursday when it launched a five year fixed rate senior deal.

Hungary is planning a renminbi-denominated government bond in the hope of laying the foundation for eastern European entities to borrow from the RMB market and encourage related investment activity, its Ministry for National Economy said this week.

The rampant demand in the convertible bond market, which has produced a run of deals at very attractive terms for issuers, brought two more borrowers into the market today (November 25) with debut deals, Total and Brenntag. But the deals’ execution suggested it might be time for a breather.