North America

The US investment grade market continued to show its resilience as a backlog of M&A related financings began to emerge amid improving market conditions.

Dollar pre-funding is unlikely to be a feature of the fourth quarter this year as crushed swap spreads and a lack of direction from the US Federal Reserve force out SSA borrowers.

In the latest shot fired in the product war between exchanges, CME Group has unveiled a new lead futures contract to compete with the London Metal Exchange.

As the primary US banks release earnings for the third quarter there is little sign of panic in options markets despite overwhelmingly negative expectations.

European and US banks paid up this week as they unleashed a torrent of dollar supply amid improving market conditions.

Barclays already has a clear strategy for its investment bank and now it could be about to appoint the CEO to deliver it. But bigger questions lie ahead for all of Europe’s banks to remain competitive, writes David Rothnie.

Dollar pre-funding is unlikely to be a feature of the fourth quarter this year as crushed swap spreads and a lack of direction from the US Federal Reserve force out SSA borrowers.

Volatility in futures and options markets for US grains has abated after data from the US Department for Agriculture indicated a potentially weaker harvest cycle.

JP Morgan Chase missed analysts' expectations in its third quarter results, due to weak revenue from trading and debt capital markets. But core loan growth is soaring, and JPM has made huge strides in simplifying its balance sheet.

Santander and BBVA both looked to the dollar market to secure senior funding on Tuesday amid a bare session for European FIG issuance.

This week began with three small euro offerings on screens from Landsbankinn, Carrefour Banque and NordLB as investors and issuers remained defensive after a recent run of gains in equities was met with a loss on Monday.

Royal Bank of Canada launched a €1bn three year floater on Tuesday, adding a euro trade to its recent activity in dollars and sterling before it enters a blackout period in November.