UK

UK healthcare property company Assura extended the recent run of sterling corporate bond issuance on Thursday when its debut deal became the third trade issued in the currency in as many days.

The Bank of England has clarified how it will set hurdle rates for banks in its 2018 stress test, featuring systemic risk buffers for the first time and changing the way in which Pillar 2 requirements are calculated through the duration of the exercise.

The UK Debt Management Office breezed through another syndication on Wednesday, although bankers said that the darkening cloud of global trade wars likely led some investors to seek shelter in the safe-haven asset.

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has sharply increased its offer for UK media company Sky in a deal that values the company at £24.5bn. The offer includes an increased bridge loan and millions more in fees for the arrangers.

Investec Bank is planning to issue tier two and to buy back old amortising subordinated notes with a high coupon.

The new issue market has been stumbling from short issuance window to short issuance window since the start of June, with the periods of no issuance in between often seeing corporate bond spreads widen. That widening however, has started to create a perception among investors that there is value to be had.

In light of recent government turmoil, GlobalCapital Frontier Markets assesses the investment case for the UK, one of Europe’s more volatile emerging markets.

Phoenix Group Holdings, the UK insurer, has capped off its £950m rights issue to finance its takeover of the European arm of Standard Life Assurance, from its parent Standard Life Aberdeen.

London-based equity capital markets investors are beginning to wonder whether the trade hostility between China and the US will hurt Hong Kong’s vibrant IPO market and are considering repositioning if it does.

TP ICAP replaced its chief executive John Phizackerley with its boss of global broking, Nicolas Breteau, on Tuesday, sending the shares spiralling downwards, as the interdealer broker revealed that rising costs were impacting the business.

An equity and derivatives strategist who left BNP Paribas in April has won a new job at Citi.

French markets regulator, Autorité des marchés financiers, has expressed concerns over the supervision of UK clearing houses after Brexit, suggesting that UK home country supervisors may not focus on the stability of the European Union.