Goldman Sachs

European corporate bond investors showed they were hungry for paper on Thursday, despite the gloom infecting equity markets this week about the prospect of a restart to the China-US trade war. A flurry of issuers came to the market, hot from roadshows, and got plenty of over-subscription while slashing their spreads by 20bp to 30bp.

Ireland set a new order book record when it issued a curve-extending long 30 year bond on Thursday.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) positioned itself among the very highest credits on Thursday with its capital markets debut, selling a five year global dollar benchmark bond that bankers said was priced similarly to top rated supranational debt from issuers like the World Bank and the European Investment Bank.

The strength of corporate bond demand, after falls in stockmarkets engendered by the US's hardened stance on trade talks with China, will be tested in the US on Wednesday by a $20bn issue for IBM. In Europe, the test could come on Thursday, since a handful of issuers finished roadshows on Wednesday.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has begun a price discovery process for its eagerly awaited inaugural bond, which is expected to be issued on Thursday.

Ireland appointed banks on Tuesday for its second syndicated bond of the year, which will extend its euro benchmark curve to 2050 (31 years).

Watches of Switzerland Group, the largest retailer of luxury watches in the UK, is exploring an IPO on the London Stock Exchange to cut its debt and allow its private equity owner Apollo Global Management to sell down some of its shares in the company.

The high costs of bidding for the next generation of mobile technology is pushing telecoms firms, many of which operate with leveraged capital structures, to sharpen their balance sheets through asset sales and paying down debt. Mobile moguls like Patrice Drahi, Xavier Niel and John Malone are all taking steps to optimise their empires. Owen Sanderson reports.

US bond bankers are looking forward to a bumper May, with a slew of big ticket M&A financings set to hit the dollar market within days. Bristol-Myers Squibb announced a roadshow on Thursday for a deal that is expected to be around $21bn, to help fund its acquisition of Celgene.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has mandated banks for its inaugural bond, a five year dollar global benchmark.

Shares in Tesla, the US maker of electric vehicles, gained as much as 2.8% on Thursday morning after the company announced it would raise up to up to $2.3bn of capital by selling new shares and convertible bonds to strengthen its balance sheet following a net loss of $702m in the first quarter of the year.

Finablr has set a range on its London IPO, valuing the business at a more conservative multiple than many had expected when the roadshow began. That will please prospective buyers, some of whom were also impressed with an appearance from the company’s billionaire owner, BR Shetty.