Santander

Leveraged loan issuance is set to outpace sales of new high yield bonds with a surge this year, pushed by a varied array of borrowers seeking not just tighter margins on old debt, such as US chemical group Angus this week, but also funding for acquisitions, as with Nordic travel operator Etraveli.

Italian corporate issuers have dominated bond issuance in recent weeks but Wednesday brought a pair from Iberia, as two energy suppliers took advantage of the market's hot conditions.

In October, German chemicals company BASF announced it had agreed to buy parts of Bayer’s seed and non-selective herbicide businesses for €5.9bn, all in cash. On Wednesday it started to fund that with a €3bn triple tranche bond sale.

Axtel, the Mexican telecoms company, is meeting investors for a planned senior unsecured bond issue. Investors say the firm is almost unrecognisable from the one that carried out a distressed debt exchange in 2013.

On Tuesday, Spanish infrastructure operator Ferrovial tapped into demand for the enhanced yield offered by hybrid bonds and matched the second lowest coupon ever on such an instrument.

Dollar corporate bond supply kicked off November on a quiet note after the the Federal Reserve’s two day meeting kept borrowers on the sidelines following a frantic start to the week when spreads continued to tighten and cash poured into the high-grade market.

Argentina has released price guidance for a €2.5bn triple tranche bond at levels a trader in London described as shockingly wide, while investors started to fret about how much debt the country takes on.

A euro and sterling deal from Verizon was the only corporate bond deal in the pipeline when bankers returned to their desks on Monday morning.

The European high yield bond pipeline this week brought €1bn of single-B rated offerings in euros and sterling from new issuers, giving hope to those working for a bigger borrower base for the market.

Falabella, the Chilean retail company, raised $400m of new debt in a 5.5 times subscribed deal on Monday, as bond bankers say the party in Lat Am bond markets is set to continue.

Has Europe’s corporate bond market ever been hotter than today? Perhaps, but Monday’s four investment grade deals totalling €7.4bn offered ample evidence of extraordinary demand — not least, what is believed to be the most tightly priced corporate hybrid capital issue ever, for Danone.

WM Housing followed the successful path of its fellow UK housing association, Notting Hill Housing Trust, when it announced a copycat benchmark sterling 31 year bond on Friday.