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Invesco unveils a fixed income fund focused on Belt and Road countries, regulators release the first batch of qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) quotas of 2018, and Boston-based Acadian Asset Management begins buying Chinese A-shares.

Italian elections are typically exaggerated and flamboyant affairs with a full cast of colourful, and occasionally repugnant, characters. Investors and banks are right to insist that Italy’s recovery is strong enough to put aside misgivings about the country’s politicians, but they should keep an eye on Sunday’s events regardless.

The issues surrounding Italy’s debt burden refuse to go away, but not all market participants believe that a change of government on Sunday would be able to stall or reverse the country’s recent economic progress.

Why bank consolidation isn't the slam-dunk it seems to be.

Journalists are overwhelmed with press releases on a daily basis. Nowadays, comms managers tend to publicise anything and everything: the personal assistant of the deputy CEO moved to Singapore, the chairman’s dog fell over, blockchain blah blah something something proof of concept.

Equity repo, a way to lend shares to the market, is a key parameter in equity derivatives trading but is yet to be fully considered and monetised. Given the opportunities that exist in the space, market participants would do well to change tack.

Part of the job of a financial regulator is to protect the general public from itself by keeping dangerous financial instruments on the top shelf, behind the cookie jar. But the rules don’t make sense.

The perception of the Swiss investor as exhaustively prudent is becoming ever more inaccurate. With borrowers of all stripes making inroads into the Swiss franc bond market, and buyers receptive to credits from across the world, the natives are more intrepid than other markets give them credit for.

The Republic of Indonesia’s maiden green sukuk last week was a landmark for green finance, becoming the first green sovereign issue in Asia, and one of just a handful globally. Indonesia deserves to be lauded for its efforts, but it’s too soon to judge the country by its one green financing exercise — especially as the nation is far from environmentally friendly.

A trio of deals from German borrowers have been put to the vote on BondMarker. Read on to see how they fared.

The Communist Party changes the constitution to allow Xi Jinping to serve a third term as president, banking watchdog standardises market entry rules for local and international banks, and China’s legislature approves a two-year extension for the registration-based IPO system.

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) takes control of Anbang Insurance Group amid concerns over its finances, Fullerton Fund Management offers its first private fund in the onshore market, and the renminbi remains the fifth most used payments currency in January 2018.