France

Carrefour, the French supermarkets group, sold Europe's second corporate bond deal of the week on Tuesday, as the market slowly recovered from the volatility of the previous week. There still remained some nervousness around market conditions, however, so Carrefour had to ensure it offered investors a healthy premium.

Larry Thompson, vice-chairman of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp, on Tuesday suggested that populist rhetoric in the US might be overshadowing President Trump's strong choices of leaders in independent financial oversight agencies.

Delachaux, the French railway equipment maker, has set the terms on its Paris IPO.

French food distributor Alphaprim has raised a small amount of Euro private placement (Euro PP) debt.

Paragon Group, the UK ticket printing company, has tapped a euro private placement it issued in April, raising €35m.

Guarantor: France

The political manoeuvrings in Italy’s path to being governed — as well as poor eurozone economic data — played havoc with rates this week, leading to SSA deals either paying higher new issue concessions, or falling short of subscription. More volatility could come, after the country’s president approved the likely coalition partners’ choice of prime minister but held back from appointing a eurosceptic economist to take charge of the country’s economy. Craig McGlashan reports.

The covered bond market enjoyed one of its most active weeks this year, with as many as eight transactions launched, even as other markets struggled. However, while most issues were well received, the two longest dated deals dragged and showed investor concerns over duration.

Dexia Crédit Local scored what leads said was a good result on Thursday as it brought a trade at the upper end of its size plans and tightened pricing during another volatile day for eurozone rates. KfW was also out in euros, with a tap, although it appeared to be more of a slow burner.

Unédic played it safe by offering extra new issue concession to traverse a choppy euro market on Wednesday, ending up with a €1bn 15 year deal and a 1bp tightening from guidance. Dexia Crédit Local is out for a euro deal on Thursday, although bankers said the shorter duration trade should mean the volatility will be less of a test.

Autodis Group, the French distributor of spare vehicle parts owned by Bain Capital, has cancelled its planned Euronext Paris IPO, blaming volatile markets.

The European Investment Bank has printed a new Climate Awareness Bond — its sole euro green bond for 2018 — opting for an aggressive price and falling short of full subscription. A French agency will follow the supranational’s lead, mandating for a deal with the same tenor.