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It can occasionally be tempting for a young banker to pull a sickie to spend a day with friends. But sick days are best spent under the cover of darkness — not in the searing sun.

The European Union is about to kick-start its huge borrowing programme for the Support to Mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) fund later this month. It is expected to bolt on additional financing needs for its recovery fund too, once that has been ratified. That could mean up to €100bn of new supply by the end of next year. Printing that as sustainability bonds will give that market the best fillip it could wish for. The EU must seize this opportunity given its commitment to the cause.

Equity investors should be nervous about US tech valuations as the fabled FAANG (named for Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google) stocks look extremely expensive after reaping in the cash during the equity rally that followed the initial Covid-19 sell-off. With valuations at near-preposterous levels and the macro-economic environment worsening with rising Covid-19 cases and a bitter election around the corner, market moves down last week could be a sign of worrying times ahead.

Green dollar bonds from Chinese high yield real estate developers are rare, but property companies have the potential to push the green market in the region to the next level — and see some pricing benefits in the process.

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which holds almost $400bn of assets under management, has played a critical role in maintaining financial stability during the coronavirus pandemic. Alireza Zaimi, head of corporate finance at the PIF, tells GlobalCapital how the fund weathered a commodity shock of unprecedented proportions, how the crisis has shaped its investment choices, and how its funding strategy has held up.

In this round-up, the China Securities Regulatory Commission lays out plans to attract more foreign investors, the Hong Kong police arrests 270 demonstrators for unlawful assembly, and the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges publish complementary rules for infrastructure real estate investment trusts.

This week in Keeping Tabs: a start-up’s plans to change correspondent banking; an argument for dual interest rates; state aid after Brexit; and etiquette in the coronavirus age.

In this round-up, Credit Suisse plans to increase its workforce in mainland China by 100% in five years, the central bank develops a new benchmark interest rate, and yet another US-listed Chinese firm comes under the scrutiny of the US securities regulator.

In this round-up, China plans to develop the domestic semiconductor industry amid tighter technology export controls imposed by the Trump administration, India blocks over 100 Mainland-based apps including Baidu and Alipay, and Beijing vows countermeasures if Chinese journalists fail to get their US visas renewed.

September began with a bang for equity issuance, capped off on Wednesday by a mammoth €2.7bn share sale from Siemens Healthineers. However, the rush of deals is not just being driven by optimism. Bankers fear darker days returning.

China is working on new rules to give foreign investors fuller access to the world’s second largest bond market. However, bankers are sceptical. Addison Gong reports.

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, who has decided to retire, will be missed by many bankers.