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Houlihan Lokey’s European corporate finance land grab has made its fifth acquisition since 2014, writes David Rothnie, at a time when the fluctuations of the credit cycle may be about to lead to more restructurings.

While capital markets professionals might be preparing to pop champagne corks in the expectation of a Conservative Party victory in the UK’s general election on December 12, they should remember that the government’s key policy is appalling for the UK.

For most people, holidays are a way to escape from the frenetic reality of day to day life. Some opt for sandy beaches, others a snowy mountain peak, but the aim is generally the same — relaxation.

When investors are presented with a new financial instrument, their instinct is generally to focus on pricing, relative value and liquidity. This is a natural response, especially in a low yield environment in which every basis point counts.

European banks are waiting for relief from central bankers, politicians and regulators. But UniCredit is positioning itself to offset several of the biggest problems facing the sector, giving it greater room to forge its own destiny.

The European Central Bank (ECB) likes to keep up the idea that it dips in and out of markets judiciously with its quantitative easing programme. This is disingenuous. Its driving force is its need to pump money into the system.

The FICC Market Standards Board has just released guidance on the proper conduct of government bond auctions, cautioning banks — and primary dealers especially — to manage their conflicts of interest carefully. That’s fine as far as it goes, but the whole point of the primary dealer system is to rig the market, with finely tuned incentives on all sides to make sure governments have access to funding whatever the weather.

Polite, sincere, with a swift wit, David Pepper had a huge presence in Europe's syndicated loan market.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp’s (ONGC) failed attempt to loosen change of control covenants for its dollar bond is a prime example of why investors in Indian state-owned enterprises need to keep their eyes wide open when approaching new deals.

In this round-up, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed a surprise increase in November, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and other state regulators jointly released comprehensive guidelines for rating firms and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) named a new chairman for its supervisory board.

In this round-up, profits at Chinese industrial companies declined further in October, Sun Hung Kai Financial (UK) became the latest GDR conversion institution and MSCI said it will not include more Chinese A-shares into its indices until access concerns are addressed.

In this round-up, US president Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights Act into law despite trade tension with China, the Ministry of Finance allocated Rmb1tr ($142.2bn) of special project bond quotas to local governments and the Chinese State Council has set its sights on financing infrastructure projects.