United States

Luckin Coffee, China’s answer to Starbucks, has launched a combined follow-on offering and convertible bond issue to raise up to $821m.

The noise about how capitalism is changing to a system in which social purpose is restored to the centre of companies' and investors' aims is now deafening. But look below the surface and the actual governance record of many companies and investors is dreadful. Most shareholders are too supine even to defend their own rights.

Equity market participants were stunned last Friday after the US assassinated Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. It followed what had been a strong end to 2019 in the market with many hopeful the momentum would carry into this year. But banks and investors need to be prepared for shocks, especially as domestic pressure on US president Donald Trump increases in the run up to November's election.

I-Mab, a China-based biopharmaceutical company, has kicked off the roadshow for its up to $111.1m Nasdaq IPO, more than two months after filing draft documents with the US regulator.

US equity-linked bankers will be toasting another spectacular year, the strongest for new convertible issuance since 2008, as surging stocks fuelled an issuance boom.

Canadian financial institutions could be heavy users of the dollar bond market in 2020, though supply from high-grade bank and finance borrowers is otherwise expected to fall again, as firms enjoy comfortable capital and debt buffers.

In this round-up, Chinese president Xi Jinping headed to Macau for the 20th anniversary of the handover, the National People’s Congress will hold a fourth reading of the Securities Law next week and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has lowered the 14-day reverse repo rate.

JP Morgan Securities (China) has received the securities and futures business permit from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which will allow it to begin operations in the Mainland.

Southpaw takes a sideways look at some of the big events that defined investment banking in 2019.

US high grade corporate borrowers have been warned to expect an uptick in volatility in 2020 after dollar bond supply confounded expectations to deliver another banner year.

Ipreo, whose system is used by banks, especially in Europe, for syndicating new bond issues, has reached out to two potential rivals about possibilities to collaborate. This suggests IHS Markit, which owns Ipreo, believes the alternative platforms could make headway.

The way that financial and economic news is reported is a better guide to variance in global equity returns than VIX, the CBOE Volatility Index, according to research by the International Monetary Fund.