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The US Department of Labour (DoL) has proposed what it characterises as a reiteration of what has always been required of retirement fiduciaries — that they act in the best interest of their beneficiaries — urging them to disregard ESG considerations in investment decisions. In doing so, it appears not to have noticed the last decade in financial markets, which has shown that ESG investing is very much in investors’ interests.

Now is not the ideal time to be a port operator. International Container Terminal Services has faced a tough year, as the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical turmoil take a toll on global trade. But the Philippine company, which develops and operates container ports and terminals, moved quickly in response to the crisis in early 2020, boosting its liquidity and freezing its capital expenditure. ICTSI followed with two successful dollar bond sales in June and July.

American expats have long looked at their low-tax paying peers with envy. While Englishmen, Frenchmen and others in Hong Kong have enjoyed a 17% maximum tax rate, those born in the US are also forced to pay taxes in their country of birth, even if they’ve been absent for decades.

Anis Lahlou is chief investment officer at Aperture Investors in London. He believes that asset managers must change the way they charge fees to their investors, by only charging them for market-beating performance.

The National Football League, the professional American football league in the US, has sold $1.7bn of private placements, according to market sources, to help steer the organisation through the coronavirus.

A prospective improvement in the European Central Bank’s deposit tiering facility mitigating the punitive impact of negative rates should be bad for covered bonds, 95% of which are negative-yielding. However, the unprecedented scale of reserves held on deposit with the central bank implies that many key investors will still be looking for anything that pays more than its deposit rate of minus 0.5%.

Ant Group revealed last week that it is planning a multi-billion-dollar dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The company is often referred to as a startup, but it will float at a valuation well above $100bn and has been in business for six years. What is the right term for a company like Ant? It is time for a new moniker.

In this round-up, China’s industrial profits jump for a second consecutive month, the securities regulator tweaks requirements around information disclosure by listed companies, and the Chinese finance minister says the country must continue to keep government debt risk at bay.

This week in Keeping Tabs: what’s next after the EU recovery deal, assuaging public anger, and the Lebanese economy.

In this round-up, China International Capital Corp plans to boost the size of its Shanghai IPO, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority plays down the impact of the national security law, and the People’s Bank of China revamps green criteria.

In this round-up, the already fraught relationship between the US and China faces fresh tests, as both countries continue announcing retaliatory measures against each other.

Surging redemptions and aggressive buying by the ECB — which is also offering issuers a cheaper funding alternative — mean a reduced supply outlook for the covered bond market and, therefore, ever tighter spreads. But higher yielding, safer alternative investments are on the horizon, meaning the asset class may soon lose its allure.