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The astonishing rally in UK domestic equities in the past week as a Brexit deal with the EU started to look more likely showed how important an orderly exit from the bloc is to the market. If there is more progress towards a deal this week, the little loved sector could be primed for a resurgence in capital markets.

Running in parallel with the rapid growth of the green bond market have been the numerous labels for these bonds. But the abundance of green labels risks confusing investors and diluting an important vehicle to finance projects to clean up the planet.

In this round-up, China and the United States emerged out of a two-day trade talk with a “phase one” deal, China’s securities regulator set dates for further opening up of onshore financial markets and the Monetary Authority of Macau plans to launch a Nasdaq-like stock exchange for the offshore renminbi market.

In this round-up, Mainland Chinese partners cut ties with the National Basketball Association (NBA) after disagreements surrounding the Hong Kong protests, China’s foreign currency reserves fell in September and UBS has received the green light to trade global depositary receipts through the Shanghai-London Stock Connect.

In this round-up, vice premier Liu He started a two-day negotiation in Washington DC, the Chinese Ministry of Finance transferred 10% of its stake in Bank of Communications into a state-run fund and the National People’s Congress released draft rules to regulate state employees’ public discourse.

What do cardboard boxes, plastic pipes and genetically improved pigs have in common?

The branding may be on the way out, but there are plenty of reasons to be encouraged about the potential for real progress in the next phase of the Capital Markets Union.

It’s tough being a banker these days, and not just because the mouth-watering pay cheques and bonuses that came with the job have been gradually drying up.

Investors have mixed feelings about bonds from Chinese property companies, but a likely supply-demand rebalance could signal yet another honeymoon period for the sector.

European politicians may be tempted to make a show by founding a new development bank. That would be a mistake. Results are what matter, not branding. To supercharge development and climate finance, the EU should choose the simplest and fastest option.

The postponement of the WeWork IPO last month and the under-performance of other 2019 debutants should not be the cause of woe for the US IPO market, but a sign that investors are adopting similar price discernment to European IPO buyers.

Clauses to stop investors who are ‘net short’ a particular credit influencing any restructuring or default are becoming more common, with buyout debt for Bain Capital’s Kantar spinout and Blackstone’s Merlin take-private including the new terms. These may not be watertight, but that doesn’t matter — the point is to make it awkward for investors taking this approach.