Pre-migration untagged articles

Greece bashing is rife again as the sovereign issued a Eu2bn five year floater at 250bp over six month Euribor and conducted a roadshow in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London and Paris. Moody’s has added to the gloom, warning of dire consequences for sovereign borrowers if central banks mess up their exit strategies, bringing 2009 to a close on a dismal note.

The secondary loan market will get a boost from the rollout of its first delivery-versus-payment settlement service next quarter, which should increase liquidity and reduce the time it takes to complete trades.

Expro, the UK drilling company, priced a $1.4bn senior secured bond on Monday night to repay part of its $2.4bn leveraged loan signed last year. Rexel, the electrical equipment supplier, and Infinis, the energy company, priced bonds on Friday. Read EuroWeek this week for more analysis.

Two emerging market sovereigns ventured out to tap investors this week before the shutters finally come down for the Christmas holidays. Read EuroWeek on Friday for details of deals for Senegal and Brazil.

Network Rail this week decided against a return to the ECP market, having recently begun issuing in the US CP market after a lengthy hiatus.

A covered bond legal framework could be in place in Cyprus by the end of the year, after the country’s government last week approved draft legislation.

Dealers of private EMTNs: Non-syndicate deals for less than $250m excluding financial repackaged SPVs, GSE issuers, self-led deals and issues with a term of less than 365 days

Bank of America Securities has agreed to pay $137.3m to settle allegations of securities fraud connected with the sale of municipal bonds.

Thierry Varène, head of corporate finance and investment banking in Europe for BNP Paribas, is to take direct responsibility for UK, German and Spanish investment banking as part of a reorganisation of the business. The three countries do not have specific heads of investment banking.

SSA issuers sold deals in non-standard currencies this week — the World Bank sold its first deal in Zambian kwacha, while KfW tapped notes in Norwegian kroner, as dealers expect issuers use currencies like this to avoid volatility in the euro.

The E-Bond. It’s a pretty, elegant idea whose time has come — time, that is, to be consigned to the scrapheap, once and for all.

Gorelick Brothers Capital has launched its second residential mortgage-backed securities fund of hedge funds.