North America

US high-grade corporates began to emerge from earnings blackout but few are predicting the usual flood of bond issuance as fears over rising inflation and the impact of tax reform could keep borrowers on the sidelines.

Two influential derivatives trade bodies have questioned elements of a European Commission proposal that would centralise supervisory powers with pan-European securities watchdog ESMA, arguing that national supervisors have a “strong knowledge of local markets” and that the move seemed “premature”.

Scotiabank looks set to enter the US private placement market, after it hired an experienced banker from National Australia Bank.

Chinese property developer Country Garden Holdings was forced to pull a Rmb1.8bn ($281.2m) three year Panda bond this week after investors demanded a better return amid rising volatility, writes Noah Sin.

Jason Manske, the chief hedging officer and head of global derivatives and liquid markets at insurance giant MetLife, has joined the International Swaps and Derivatives Association's board of directors.

Options volumes were up 11% in exchanges around the world last year, while futures were down 6.6%, according to new data unveiled by the Futures Industry Association.

Chinese data centre operator GDS Holdings has opened a follow-on placement of its American Depository Shares (ADS), eyeing around $200m.

Onshore investors forced red chip issuer Country Garden Holdings to pull a Rmb1.8bn ($281.2m) three year bond on Tuesday. It would have been the real estate company’s first deal in the Panda market since September 2016.

Shenzhen International Holdings has raised Rmb300m ($46.9m) from a five year non put three Panda bond. The deal, which marked the issuer’s first outing in the asset class, was also the first Panda to list in the exchange market in 2018.

Public sector borrowers wrapped up a trio of short end dollar trades on Tuesday, with the tightest issuer able to grind in pricing to the lowest level from an SSA this year and the higher yielding names finding ample demand despite ending up at similar spreads. SSA bankers are confident that the strong conditions will also ring true at the long end for KfW, which has mandated for its first 10 year dollar benchmark in nearly three years.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have hardened their stances on cryptocurrency markets, amid wider market concerns about initial coin offerings and the launch of bitcoin futures.

Dalian Wanda Group has mandated banks to start work on a possible IPO of its sports assets, said sources close to the matter.