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IBM returned to the euro corporate bond market for the first time since 2017 on Thursday, to sell its largest ever deal in the euro market and to push into a maturity not seen from a corporate issuer so far in 2019.

French supermarket chain Auchan attracted plenty of demand for its third consecutive January new issue but it had to pay a hefty new issue premium to ensure the deal got done. The supermarket sector is one of several retail sectors priming investors for poor annual results.

Volkswagen Bank started its funding for 2019 with a hefty four tranche deal on Thursday that will contribute to its minimum requirement of own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) when the German regulator decides what that should be.

The Republic of Turkey has returned for a bond in euros after the $2bn note it sold earlier this month rocketed in value.

Following the success of Engie’s green hybrid bond the previous week, the French energy company’s Portuguese peer, EDP, launched its own version on Wednesday. While EDP’s deal did not achieve quite the same demand or tight pricing, the result was still a good one.

Dubai Investments Park is hitting the road to market a five year fixed rate senior unsecured Reg S only sukuk.

Corporate bond spreads widened in the fourth quarter of 2018, adding to the overall negative returns the asset class provided investors with over the year. However, with spreads now back at levels not seen since 2016, investors are considering increasing their allocations to the sector once more.

US sanctions on EN+ and Rusal look set to be lifted soon, but they have not been the failure that some emerging market investors claim.

New issuance returned to the corporate bond market on Tuesday as Auchan and Vonovia attracted €8bn of demand for their new deals after two days without any trades. The new issuance spreads they paid differed markedly however.

Qatar National Bank has sold a Rmb500m ($73m) three year bond through Standard Chartered, continuing its ongoing presence in this market.

The US holiday for Martin Luther King Day often causes a slow day in European markets, but the latest growth data out of China meant that any issuers holding go/no-go calls on Monday morning opted to wait for a better day to bring their new deals.

Given the uncertainty created by Tuesday’s Brexit vote, the issuance frontloaded into the Swiss franc market at the start of the week was dominated by domestic borrowers.