North America

A long-awaited civil settlement with the US Department of Justice this week could prove to be a boon for Royal Bank of Scotland, which has had the risk of heavy fines looming over it for some time.

On Wednesday, US car manufacturer Ford’s finance arm followed its recent trend in using the euro corporate market to fund itself in floating rate note format. The company kept its tenors short with a pair of FRNs, but found investors had a preference the shorter option.

Goldman Sachs sold its largest amount of Swiss franc bonds in a single Sfr325m issue on Tuesday afternoon, encouraging hopes that the Swiss franc might be regaining its status as a global funding currency.

Investors are hedging and betting on oil prices as markets remain unsure about whether or not US President Donald Trump will pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE Corp, which has failed to comply with a covenant on a $450m syndicated loan due in July, has requested lenders to waive the breach, according to bankers close to the situation.

Apple’s announcement this week that it would launch an extra $100bn share buy-back left European markets poised for the higher yields that an exodus of American cash might bring.

The high yield bonds electric vehicle maker Tesla sold last August dropped in the secondary market on Thursday, after its first quarter earnings showed the firm spent $1.1bn of cash during the quarter and CEO Elon Musk abruptly cut off analysts who asked questions during the company’s earnings call.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions on Thursday scolded central counterparties for not doing enough to implement policies to ensure their stability.

Corporates are hoping for a bumper month for issuance in dollar bonds as M&A funders hit the market after a record April.

Deutsche Bank is looking to shift up to $9.7bn of dollar-denominated debt from European issuance entities to its New York branch, as part of an effort to avoid being taxed more heavily under US president Donald Trump’s incoming tax reforms.

Thunder Bridge Acquisition has filed for a $200m Nasdaq IPO, set to be the first special purpose acquisition company (Spac) focused on China’s financial technology sector.

Huya, a live streaming platform backed by YY and Tencent, has started bookbuilding for its up to $180m IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.