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One of the silver linings of the coronavirus crisis for the capital markets has been the impressive surge in the growth of the social bond market, which has lagged far behind the development of green finance. While it makes perfect sense for the immediate focus to be on social concerns, it should not be to the detriment of the environmental crisis we also face.

For a failing business, the coronavirus pandemic has offered the perfect excuse. With so many well-managed companies forced to close their doors during lockdowns, record unemployment across several countries and a severe global recession on the cards, who can blame a management team or its backers when a corporate is on the edge of collapse?

Deutsche Hypo took advantage of the public Pfandbrief market before the coronavirus crisis struck and since then has been busy issuing privately placed senior deals. Spreads have since tightened, which should help issuance bounce back. But ready access to favourable European Central Bank repo funding means supply will be restricted. Some parts of the German commercial real estate market are likely to be facing trouble too, but even so, Pfandbrief investors are well protected.

China’s green market has taken a big leap forward with plans to cut clean coal from the list of projects eligible for green bond financing. The move is notable — but only if the country follows it up with more measures.

DNB entered 2020 better capitalised than ever, and having taken the opportunity to get ahead with its regulatory funding at the end of last year, it was also better financed than ever. Even so, following the regulator's decision to delay implementation of MREL target by one year, DNB could return to the covered bond market in the latter half of 2020.

In this round-up, the US says it will strip Hong Kong of its special trade status after Beijing passed the national security law on the special administrative region (SAR), and China’s securities houses will be able to raise subordinated debt in the public markets.

Each week, the very best of what our newsroom have found most useful, interesting and informative from around the web. This week: what being in charge of a leading reserve currency actually means, how business travel might return, and a power play from Warrington Borough Council.

In this round-up, tensions between the US and China rise dramatically after China says it would impose a national security law on Hong Kong SAR, and the USD/CNH exchange rate reacts strongly to the latest developments.

In this round-up, China’s central bank injects liquidity into the market through reverse repos over four consecutive days, industrial profit growth rebounds in April from recent lows, and officials will work on guidelines for Panda bonds from SSA issuers.

The European Commission has delivered its proposal for an EU recovery fund. It may not be full debt mutualisation nor a solution to low European growth, but it is a huge step forward.

Social distancing has created a new world for all of us. I’ve learned to mix my own cocktails with such flair that I’ll be teaching the bartenders a thing or two the next time I’m at the Captain’s Bar. But I’m also not the only old dog learning a few new tricks.

Muddy Waters has fostered a fearsome reputation as a credible, thorough and forceful short seller whose explosive reports are a danger to anyone harbouring a stake in its intended target. Carson Block, its founder and chief investment officer, told GlobalCapital he has never been wrong about a company he’s shorted, though that doesn’t mean he’s made money from every position he has held. According to Block, monetary policies intended to stimulate markets through financial crises actually corrode them, and stifle accountability for serious failures in corporate governance.