North America

Price sensitivity is becoming a material theme in covered bond deals issued this week, and the first Canadian covered bond of 2018, issued by Bank of Nova Scotia on Friday, was no exception.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) has poured cold water over claims that China may stop buying US Treasury bonds. But there is a need for the country to diversify its debt portfolio in the long run if it is serious about promoting RMB internationalisation, economists told GlobalRMB.

Yankee banks made their final foray to the dollar bond market this week, before heading into earnings blackout and handing the baton over to US lenders.

Equity derivatives strategists are bullish on equities in the short term as European business confidence is high and US markets bask in the afterglow of tax reform passed by President Donald Trump. But questions remain over how long the US equity bull run can continue, with some experts encouraging more cautious long positions this year.

Industry members and SEC commissioners put their heads together to address the liquidity issues that face the fixed income markets in the first US Fixed Income Market Structure Advisory Committee.

Chinese conglomerate Tencent brought cheer to the dollar bond market on Thursday as it tapped pent-up demand with a four-part benchmark trade that amassed a $40bn order book.

The transition to a greener economy is likely to involve not just changes in the kinds of technology used, but also in scale. Smaller, local installations will become much more important — but these pose financing challenges.

Two US senators have scolded the European Commission's efforts to unilaterally change agreed rules for the oversight of foreign clearing houses in the wake of Brexit, backing the toughening position of Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman Christopher Giancarlo.

The trend for green debt issuance is set to touch the US private placement (PP) market this year, bringing yet another segment of the debt capital markets within its ambit.

The return of retail inflows into the supply starved US high yield bond market has created strong conditions for borrowers so far this year. On Tuesday, energy issuers were the main beneficiaries of the supply-demand imbalance.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME) and Japan Exchange Group (JPX) on Monday announced that Yen-denominated Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) futures would launch on CME’s Globex platform on February 5.

The passage of the US tax reform bill has helped US high yield spreads contract to their tightest level in ten years in the first two weeks of the year, drawing in borrowers to refinance existing debt and push out their maturity profiles.