UK

House of Fraser, the department store chain, has joined the trail of UK high yield retailers that have turned to company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) to deal with financial difficulties. But this time, the borrower has also found a new owner, a development its 11% shareholder Sports Direct is threatening to block in court.

The Dutch State Treasury Agency will clear its interest rate swaps at the clearing arm of German derivatives bourse Eurex, it was revealed on Tuesday.

Invesco has hired a senior portfolio manager for its London fixed income team from Schroders Investment Management.

After four years away from the high yield market, UK North Sea operator Ithaca Energy was back with a bond refinancing deal this week, as European oil and gas issuance runs well ahead of last year’s pace.

The UK Debt Management Office has announced the banks that will run the orderbooks for its first syndication of the new funding year.

Shares in Vivo Energy, the African fuel distributor, rose more than 3% on its first day of trading on the London Stock Exchange on Friday, after its £558m IPO attracted substantial demand.

Bank of China (BoC) plans to play to its strengths by deploying its balance sheet and providing liquidity to parched investors. With syndicate and trading operations in place, it has hired Tim Skeet as head of Western European origination.

Apple’s announcement this week that it would launch an extra $100bn share buy-back left European markets poised for the higher yields that an exodus of American cash might bring.

Lloyds Banking group had the dollar bond market to itself on Tuesday as it exploited the continuing strong appetite for short-end paper from investors.

UK financial institutions have issued record volumes of debt so far in 2018, and there is likely to be plenty more to come, as issuers look ahead to the risks posed by the UK’s exit from the European Union.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions on Thursday scolded central counterparties for not doing enough to implement policies to ensure their stability.

Nordic Capital has sold the last of its stake in ConvaTec, the UK medical supplies manufacturer that floated on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2016, ending a decade long investment.