Free content

A long-touted equity link between London and Shanghai is set for take-off by the end of the year, but the most unsurprising news to emerge is HSBC’s plan to use it for a Mainland listing. China now has an excellent chance to get its act together on Chinese Depositary Receipts.

SSA borrowers recorded below par results in the latest BondMarker scores, with even the best performer off form.

Telefónica’s reported decision that the IPO of O2 will not take place before the UK is scheduled to leave the European Union in March made headlines on Monday, but should not come as a great surprise to anyone involved in EMEA equity capital markets.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development issued the first benchmark of its 2019 funding programme on Tuesday. The supranational has kickstarted its borrowing for next year to take advantage of the current market conditions. Other SSAs who have completed or are approaching the end of their borrowing programmes for the year should consider following.

Netflix has returned to the high yield market once again this week with a $2bn offering to fund its ever-increasing spend on its original films and TV shows. But instead of issuing high coupon debt, the company would have done better to look at a convert.

The recent resurgence in Thai IPOs is reassuring amid the volatility roiling many emerging markets. But the success of the listings from Thailand Future Fund and Osotspa is far from a reflection of a booming ECM market in the country.

China’s top financial regulators coordinated statements boost stocks, Japan and China to resume currency swap agreement, and MoF announces additional details on personal tax cuts.

The US Treasury declined to name China a currency manipulator in its latest report this week, contrary to expectations. But the last minute save did not prevent the renminbi from moving closer to the line in the sand with an exchange rate of seven per dollar.

The People’s Bank of China opened the gates to onshore triparty repo, the Ministry of Commerce reports healthy numbers for exports and investments for the first three quarters of 2018, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority brought on-board a senior PBoC official on secondment.

China recorded a larger than expected fall in its third quarter GDP, foreigners are still piling into Chinese stocks and bonds despite volatile currency, and the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges signed co-operation agreements with their French and Russian counterparts.

Stablecoins are a curiosity unique to the cryptocurrency market and, despite the placid sounding name, have been embroiled in some of the hairiest controversies in the market. And they aren’t even stable.

Job interviews are not fun at the best of times, and at worst, they are like brutal interrogations. But some are just downright confusing, on both sides of the table.