Free content

Several chances to demonstrate commitment to corporate sustainability have occurred in the US private placement market recently, and the market has fallen short in almost every case. Most of the PP market is as unfamiliar with using the term 'ESG' as it is to yelling 'YOLO'.

Apple’s announcement that it is likely to miss revenue estimates for the first quarter of 2020 should serve as a warning to equity investors that the economic effects of the coronavirus outbreak should be feared alongside any threat of it becoming a pandemic.

Some of the more creative souls in corporate debt markets are trying to find ways to gloss over the impact of the IFRS 16 accounting standard. Brought in a year ago, it has driven up some firms’ leverage ratios by forcing them to report leases on their balance sheets, even though their businesses have not changed. But it would be a bad idea to act as if the rules had never changed.

Trans Retail Indonesia has caused a stir by deciding to structure its new syndicated loan with a relatively rare two-stage participation fee payment. Although not all banks will be wholeheartedly on board, the borrower’s move is savvy under the circumstances.

Italy is considering the sustainability-linked bond format pioneered by Italian electricity and gas company Enel, but Davide Iacovoni, head of Italy’s debt management office, thinks the structure may not suit the sovereign’s priorities of ensuring liquidity and maximising reach.

In this round-up, China could face a downgrade to its sovereign rating, Hong Kong’s finance secretary expects a “tsunami-like” impact on the economy from the Covid-19 outbreak, and the Chinese securities regulator relaxed rules on stock issuance.

In this round-up, the number of novel coronavirus infections increased by 14,840 in a single day after the Hubei province changed its diagnosis methodology, China has put the former mayor of Shanghai in charge of Hubei amid the prolonged outbreak, and regulators have given the green light to MasterCard’s long-awaited entry to the Mainland market.

Polite society does not tolerate smokers the way it used to. What was once a ubiquitous habit is now banished to outdoors in many countries. Tobacco investment is a rarer beast too these days, reflecting how deeply ethical preferences can affect capital markets. Now oil and gas securities could be about to face a similar shift.

Deutsche Bank’s ability to issue a new additional tier one bond illustrates the lesson of investing in European banks over recent years: bet on bonds, not equity.

Argentina's plans to restructure $67bn of debt in under two months may look naive to some but the ambition the government has so far demonstrated point towards a good outcome.

Negotiations may involve a degree of posturing, but as demonstrated with the plan to demand “permanent equivalence” with the EU over financial regulation, it is not clear what future the UK government wants for one of its most important industries.

In a negative interest rates environment, dividend strategies are becoming increasingly popular as a way to create positive yield for investors.