North America

US stock futures fell on Monday amid mixed markets, after Asian equities rallied but oil fell more than a dollar, to nearly $31 per barrel.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has granted full registration to 18 swap execution facilities (SEFs), upgrading them from the temporary registrations they held before.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange has bought an equity stake in Vest Financial Group, a firm that provides products to help investors hedge themselves using options.

Honeywell International has hired four banks to arrange its return to the European bond markets after a 15 year absence.

The Province of Ontario last Friday took advantage of a calm end to a volatile week, pricing its second green bond in Canadian dollars at the very tight end of guidance.

Markets opened with a more positive tone on Monday after comments from Saudi Arabia buoyed oil prices and the European Central Bank boosted confidence last week. But with many US bankers snowed in at home, EM issuers are holding back.

In this week’s round-up, Taiwan report rise in RMB deposits, investors hand back QFII quotas, JP Morgan Asset Management launches three MRF funds, calls for China to communicate better from Ben Bernanke and Christine Lagarde. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB's top stories this week.

British Columbia became the first issuer to sell a Panda with a sub-3% coupon on Thursday as its triple-A rating assured investors who were largely unfamiliar with the credit. The Canadian province is parking the proceeds offshore after failing to get tax waiver from China regulators, picking a new bank as the home for its deposit.

Falling oil prices and China concerns sent credit spreads to the record wides of recent years this week as equity markets plummeted, with a credit index options expiry coming right at the sharp end of the spike and adding to the turmoil.

The global sell-off in commodities and stocks has brought the US corporate bond market to a standstill, leaving corporate issuers unsure about when they can tap the market after the only trade of the week stumbled and AB InBev’s $46bn blockbuster continued to underperform.

The latest push lower in oil prices caused additional pain for investors this week after forced liquidations in two levered exchange-traded notes (ETNs) linked to the energy sector locked in losses just as oil prices marked fresh multi-year lows.

Lloyds Banking Group was the only FIG issuer to brave the senior unsecured dollar market this week as Wall Street’s biggest banks postponed their traditional post-earnings dash and issuance stalled at a seven-year low.