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Based on an analysis of 470,000 real estate valuations and 72,980 Italian mortgages, the European Covered Bond Council has published a report showing that energy-efficient mortgages present less credit risk than normal mortgages.

Singapore has been a front-runner when it comes to moving away from Libor to a new benchmark, with its regulators, borrowers and banks playing an active role in preparing the market. The rest of Asia’s loan market should pay attention.

Beijing-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has played a pre-eminent role in tackling Covid-19 this year, mainly by offering financial support to countries like Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Vietnam to combat the impact of the pandemic. But its work is not nearly over, as second and third waves of the coronavirus hit countries around the world.

In this round-up, China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for August misses expectations by a small margin, BlackRock becomes the first global asset manager to enter the mutual fund industry onshore, and the sale of TikTok’s US operations faces new challenges as Beijing tightens technology export controls.

This week in Keeping Tabs: the prospect of financial repression in the UK, an easier passage for emerging market central banks, and Alphabet partnering up with Swiss Re.

In this round-up, senior trade officials from China and the US hold ‘constructive’ talks, the securities regulator publishes the latest ratings for Mainland brokerages, and the Shenzhen exchange hopes to attract listings from companies with weighted voting rights (WVR).

If investors were a family, the activist hedge fund would be the brattish 20-something rich kid with libertarian opinions who relishes annoying everyone else. You wouldn’t expect this character to get on with the woke, vegan responsible investor who loves to hold forth on moral values.

The Covid-19 coronavirus has thrown up many challenges for bankers forced to work from home. But perhaps none is tougher than trying their very best to pretend they’re getting anything done.

Thomas Hugger has more than two decades of investment experience in frontier markets. Volatility is part of the job description. But he has never faced challenges like those unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Oleg Mukhamedshin, deputy chief executive of Rusal, which produces 9% of the world’s aluminium, tells Mariam Meskin how the company has weathered yet another rocky period in commodity markets. And how its sustainability credentials have been affected by oil spills at its affiliate, Norilsk Nickel, in May and June.

Political interference in central bank business is rarely a smart move, especially for emerging market countries trying to win the respect of international markets. But it’s an even more reckless endeavour in the midst of a global crisis, especially for a debt-ridden country like Zambia.

Any investor in a market as international and broad as the Schuldschein deserves a healthy secondary market. This is emerging, but certain market grandees are resistant. They should embrace it.