North America

The future of cryptocurrency derivatives looked bright this week as digital currency exchange and clearing house LedgerX won its derivatives clearing organisation (DCO) licence, complementing the swap execution facility approval it received from US regulators three weeks ago. While the fledgling asset class still has a lot to prove, a united effort from US regulators could mean it will be difficult to slow its momentum.

AT&T racked up a monster order book on Thursday, as the US telecoms giant hit the market with a $22.5bn M&A financing.

India’s Nirma is set to hit the US term loan B market for financing to back its bid for Tronox Alkali, a US-based company. The flexibility that comes with selling into an institutional market pushed Nirma to pick a combination of a US TLB and a bond for its acquisition, said bankers.

Bain Capital’s Diamond, the cleaning chemicals business, had to remove a controversial restricted payment clause before printing the triple-C rated bonds of its new financial structure on Tuesday.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Monday granted LedgerX, a digital currency exchange and clearing platform, a derivatives clearing organisation license.

When one thinks of volatility, few asset classes stand out as much as cryptocurrencies. But the fledgling nature of these decentralised digital currencies has meant that interested derivatives users have had to navigate equally volatile attitudes from global regulators.

Following a US Treasury report on regulating the financial system, published last month, the chief executives and chief financial officers of the big US banks lined up to praise the reforms’ potential — though they could be the last nail in the coffin of international regulatory co-operation.

Just one borrower occupied European high yield bond pipeline at the start of this week giving the impression the market is about to slow for summer. Bain Capital’s hygiene product supplier Diamond, is out on a roadshow.

A US pension fund has filed a class action lawsuit against ZTO Express and the banks that underwrote its $1.4bn IPO on the New York Stock Exchange last year.

Kroger and Alimentation Couche-Tard led a flurry of issuance by dollar borrowers to exploit red hot demand for high grade paper. With the bulk of corporate America in earnings blackout, the retailers demonstrated the strength of investor sentiment.

Rating: Aa1/A+

Public sector issuers are enjoying a rare time in dollars, with a lack of supply and strong demand allowing tightly priced short end deals — leading one syndicate official to respond to a question on pricing concessions with: “New issue what?” But hopes of longer end issuance appear dashed as US yields fall as quickly as expectations that US president Donald Trump will deliver on his pro-growth policies.