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With equity capital markets at their nadir of summer somnolence, mid-August is the moment at which the year’s rivalry between investment banks can truly be said to have completed its first half, with the second semester not yet begun.

Greece’s edging towards a third bailout package this week helped push down eurozone periphery sovereign yields in secondaries, with Spain set to be the first to benefit at a bond auction next week.

With oil less than half the price it was last year, African borrowers are being driven into the loan market for funding. Angolan oil company Sonangol is the prime example, according to one of the firm’s relationship banks, and more are close behind. Elly Whittaker reports.

China’s shock decision to devalue its currency this week threw up a raft of potential difficulties for a public sector bond market already fretting over other central banks’ actions.

Markit is set to unveil changes in CDX HY, the US high yield credit derivatives index, aimed at making it more useful as a hedging tool for cash bond investors and reviving ailing trading volumes in high yield credit.

Widespread concern over China’s currency strategy put the brakes on European banks’ use of the dollar market this week, which began with a $7.5bn raid on the currency by four borrowers.

Swedbank’s sharp five year floater was the only FIG supply in euros this week, but bankers believe the market will only suffer a short summer drought before supply ramps up this month.

Akbank has signed its $1.2bn-equivalent loan refinancing oversubscribed and at least three other Turkish banks will follow suit on deal tenor and pricing, according to a banker on the deals.

An agreement between Greece and its creditors this week should make euros more attractive for issuance, said SSA bankers, although the road ahead is bumpy.

China’s devaluation of its currency has halted private medium term note business in offshore renminbi after it led to a plunge in the renminbi/dollar swap rate. But when the basis swap stabilises issuance will return just as soon as investors readjust their yield targets, say MTN bankers.

Supranationals and agencies will be at the forefront of a post-summer resurgence in the medium term note market, believe dealers. SSA MTN volumes have already begun to climb following a first half of the year characterised by record lows.

In the third systems failure in three months, derivatives trading on the primary Russian exchange Moskovskaya Birzha (MOEX) was halted for half an hour on Wednesday before service resumed.