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Beijing and Washington raised the stakes in a trade stand-off with new tariffs, the chief executive of Hong Kong’s stock exchange remains upbeat despite the launch of Chinese depository receipts (CDRs) and Bank of China’s cross-border RMB index ends 2017 on the up.

On the rare occasion people complain about our bond deal stories, they quite often say the story didn’t tell them what the new issue premium was. People want to know whether the issuer paid 5bp, 10bp or 25bp. They want a precise measure, and they want to know as soon as the deal was priced. But should they care?

Spring is here, the sun is (sort of) shining and emerging markets bond bankers are frolicking among the mandates. That means we’re in a bull market, right? Wrong.

The Portuguese state and its other lenders remain exposed to Novo Banco’s losses, even after the bank's sale. Investors might complain about their own losses, but the real scandal is the public money that's still pouring into the country's banks.

The FANGs, the catchy grouping of high growth tech disruptors, may have made sense in the past but the unique pressures being faced by each business as it matures and the economic cycle turns should lead investors to differentiate more between the technology-enabled stars of the US equities market.

Industrial conglomerate Melrose has prevailed in its £8bn hostile bid for UK engineering firm GKN, after weeks of sabre-rattling rhetoric on both sides. Looking at GKN’s shaky defence, it is hard to see how there could have been any other outcome.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) publishes plans to bring overseas-listed tech companies back to the Chinese equity market through depository receipts, policymakers emphasise the need to safeguard against systemic financial risks, and the Ministry of Commerce slaps tariffs on US goods.

As the introduction of weighted voting rights (WVR) and pre-revenue companies’ listings get nearer in Hong Kong, Clawback columnist Philippe Espinasse sees an opportune time for a quick take on the types of companies that the exchange — which is probably the most volatile of the world’s major primary markets — readily allows.

Buyers, sellers and arrangers gathered together in March, in the wake of the European Commission proposing its Covered Bond Directive, for the GlobalCapital/Crédit Agricole CIB covered bond roundtable to debate how the market would fare as the European Central Bank withdraws its quantitative easing programme.

Russian borrowers seem to have no trouble accessing capital markets, despite sanctions and international condemnation for the Russian government's alleged poisoning of the spy, Sergei Skripal, in the UK. But that shouldn’t surprise anyone. Despite the lip service paid to the idea of responsible investment, most investors are not so choosy.

Some people may consider it a burden, but I like going to awards events hosted by financial publishers, especially now that I’ve retired. Schmoozing with my old buddies while enjoying some champagne and quality food is certainly not all that bad.

Monopolies can be bad but not always in market infrastructure. Want to clear interest rate swaps? Do it at LCH. Want to trade UK equities? You’ll want access to LSE. These institutions have pricing power but their network effects make markets function better.