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A superlative start to the year for the SSA sterling market has caught the eye of BondMarker voters. Read on to see how those deals — as well as a glut of euro and dollar trades — fared with voters.

The UK government has left stakeholders completely in the dark over its plans for financial services after Brexit leading to calls from some EU politicians that the City try to bypass the stalled government talks and offer a payment for access to the bloc.

China’s banking regulator prioritises deleveraging of financial institutions and individuals, the Chinese government tightens grip on overseas investment with new guidelines, and regulators encourage financing for the maritime industry in an effort to promote the Belt and Road Initiative.

International investors increase their stake in Chinese bonds and equities, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) records the second highest trading volume for its USDCNH futures, and Luxembourg Stock Exchange promotes green bonds issued by Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC).

US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin’s perceived attempt to talk down the dollar on Wednesday drew the ire of ECB president Mario Draghi, but the latter's insistence on playing fair is going to make his job more difficult.

Making Kazakh domestic assets Euroclearable is a laudable aim. But in its treatment of international investors, the country needs to be aspire to similarly high standards if it is to succeed in opening up capital markets.

It is not always easy for bankers to keep up with the minutiae of their latest bonds. But one would hope they might at least know the size of these deals. Unfortunately, that is not always the case in China’s debt market.

Market participants should be following closely the tactics, if not the arguments, of investors that lost out in the Novo Banco retransfer two years ago.

UBS’s heads of ultra high net worth wealth management argued, in a Davos-themed special, about the importance of enticing private capital to buy the sustainable bonds of multilateral development banks (MDBs). There are plenty of ways investors can encourage sustainability, but buying more MDB bonds ranks pretty low.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have hardened their stances on cryptocurrency markets, amid wider market concerns about initial coin offerings and the launch of bitcoin futures.

Banks across the Street have sought to woo shareholders with business models that celebrate the holy matrimony between Steady Eddie wealth management and (supposedly) reformed wild child investment banking. But the repercussions on bank earnings from the demise of South African retailer Steinhoff are a reminder that the course of true love never did run smooth.

Komodo bonds — offshore Indonesian rupiah bonds — are finally sputtering into life. This week, the second such deal by an Indonesian company has shown their potential. But don’t count your dragons before they hatch. The market will always be limited — and that’s a good thing.