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In this round-up, China’s ambassador to the US said the two countries have been working towards implementing the trade agreement reached in January, and the UK’s foreign secretary said hard questions need to be asked about the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tussle between bond syndicate desks and investors about whether opening books well wide of the final target spread is a worthwhile endeavour or a red flag for unprofessionalism has raged for years. This time, syndicate desks have called it right to start deals so cheap.

We're living in unprecedented times given Covid-19 related lockdowns, but there's no reason for us to lose all semblance of normality.

Chinese banks’ eagerness to lend has long allowed the country’s borrowers to get away with razor-thin pricing on their offshore loans. Not anymore.

Asia’s third online-only IPO was launched this week, confirming that virtual roadshows are a new normal for the region’s equity capital markets amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Companies elsewhere should take heed.

There has been much discussion since the financial world went into lockdown about how life in the capital markets will change once governments lift restrictions. Chief among those concerns has been whether the usual business of putting deals together needs to burn the Bacchanalian quantities of jet fuel and waste the many hours lurking around airports that capital markets air miles enthusiasts were doing before Covid-19 grounded them. If that is to change, borrowers and investors need to make it happen.

The re-emergence of economies from their Covid-19 cocoons will leave winners and losers in the medium term, with China likely to approach normality again well before the West. But acquisitive Chinese companies hoping to pick up bargains in Europe will face an insurmountable heap of regulation.

China’s government has won plaudits for its response to the Covid-19 coronavirus. That praise should extend to its capital markets.

Bronte Capital’s funds posted bumper gains in March. The hedge fund founded by the famous Australian short seller John Hempton benefitted from puts and shorts purchased before other investors panicked about the spread of coronavirus.

In this round-up, China's foreign currency reserves decreased by $46bn in March, and non-Chinese institutions continued to add onshore bonds to their books.

In this round-up, US president Donald Trump lashes out at the World Health Organization (WHO) for being too ‘China centric’, and the State Council plans to develop more active capital markets and promote e-commerce trades.

Sovereign defaults are part of the territory for emerging market investors but even by the standards of previous crises, surely nothing compares to the economic catastrophe that is rapidly engulfing large parts of the developing world.