JP Morgan

While the public sector bond market in euros faces uncertainty, dollars is providing borrowers with a haven for issuance.

JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs followed in the footsteps of European banks by tapping the dollar market for tier one capital this week, exploiting investors’ thirst for yield.

Leveraged loan supply is set to chug along at low levels through the second quarter, yet despite such paucity of product buyside, discipline is holding firm.

After a quiet start to European block trade activity in the week after Easter, deals began in earnest this week, with five substantial selldowns of companies floated in the past two years, and then a €198m trade in Abertis on Thursday evening.

UBS, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan are tonight selling a 1.34% stake in Abertis Infraestructuras, the Spanish construction and concessions company, to hedge a derivative transaction with Obrascon Huarte Lain.

Investors were eager to buy German media company Bertelsmann’s €1.25bn debut hybrid bond on Thursday, and it achieved tight pricing.

Kommunalbanken on Thursday printed its longest ever dollar benchmark. Demand was strong enough for it to tighten pricing from the initial price thoughts level.

Alcatel-Lucent's credit default swap spread has tightened sharply since news of its merger with rival telecoms equipment maker Nokia broke on Tuesday. Nokia’s spread, meanwhile, has recovered almost fully from an initial widening.

German media company Bertelsmann finished its roadshow on Wednesday for its debut hybrid capital bond issue, and could price the deal as early as Thursday, according to a banker at one of the leads.

Busy Bee, the UK nursery and early education provider for under-fives, has held a bank meeting this morning to market its £210m term loan ‘B’.

JP Morgan set a bright tone for the bank earnings season with a stellar 12% return on equity, largely on the strength of its corporate and investment bank, which returned a year on year profit growth of 19% in the first quarter of 2015.

JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley yesterday successfully sold a 10% block of Spire Healthcare shares, only to see the stock fall 10% in trading today in what one lead banker called a “disappointing” outcome.