North America

Vinit Sahni, co-founder of fintech start-up Arkera and a former senior rates banker, says that his company will help bond buyers take advantage of, what he believes will be, an upturn in local currency bonds ahead of the US election.

The US’s announcement this week that it was putting a whole host of Chinese companies on its blacklist for alleged involvement in human rights abuses is set to hit some of them hard. One of the victims is artificial intelligence (AI) leader Megvii Technology, which has been working on a billion-dollar Hong Kong IPO that will now be a challenge. Jonathan Breen reports.

Stocks listed on Shanghai’s new Star market could soon be included in MSCI’s index if they meet requirements, the index provider said on Wednesday.

Fangdd Network Group, an online platform for real estate agents, is planning an IPO on the Nasdaq, having filed draft documents with the US securities regulator this week.

Q&K International Group has filed for a Nasdaq IPO of American Depository Shares (ADS) with an aim to raise up to $100m.

Paddy Power’s prospective US private placement debut has been kicked into the long grass, according to sources familiar with the situation, as the Irish gambling company instead focuses on a merger with Canada’s PokerStars.

The postponement of the WeWork IPO last month and the under-performance of other 2019 debutants should not be the cause of woe for the US IPO market, but a sign that investors are adopting similar price discernment to European IPO buyers.

Greece has appointed a syndicate to lead a tap of the 10 year bond it issued earlier this year, in what will be its fourth public transaction of 2019. The trade will be joined in the market by a new 10 year euro benchmark from the Province of Québec.

Corporate, FIG and SSA issuers placed floating rate notes this week, pegged to Euribor, Sonia and Libor. With so many issuers coming to market, bankers are interested to see which other borrowers 'take advantage of the liquidity'.

Randal Quarles, the head of global regulator the Financial Stability Board, warned on Thursday that cryptocurrencies and increasing fragmentation of financial markets carried the greatest threats to market stability.

The fourth quarter began on a rocky note for global equities but the US high grade bond market has shrugged off concerns about stalling growth and issuance conditions remain strong.

For Canadian pension fund CDPQ, direct investments in private equity have become a crucial part of portfolio management. As the political debate around PE firms heats up globally, the Quebec pensioners are enjoying the fruits of CDPQ’s foray into the risky, demanding asset class that is off-limits for many smaller pension funds.