United States

Houlihan Lokey’s European corporate finance land grab has made its fifth acquisition since 2014, writes David Rothnie, at a time when the fluctuations of the credit cycle may be about to lead to more restructurings.

US private placement investors, who have long held firm on covenant structures, have started to notice early signs that their ranks may be breaking, and that 2020 may be a year when weaker covenant packages become more commonplace. But arrangers have resolutely dismissed this claim.

Equity investors are taking on more risk as 2019 draws to a close but a short sharp spike in volatility that began at the end of last week is giving them cause for concern.

Christopher Giancarlo, former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will return to the private sector in his first job since leaving the regulator.

OneConnect Financial Technology, a unit of Chinese conglomerate Ping An Group, hit the road on Tuesday to meet investors for its New York Stock Exchange IPO.

In this round-up, US president Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights Act into law despite trade tension with China, the Ministry of Finance allocated Rmb1tr ($142.2bn) of special project bond quotas to local governments and the Chinese State Council has set its sights on financing infrastructure projects.

Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) published a report on Thursday making the case for institutional investment into UK social housing. The sector has come under pressure from falls in government funding and the increasing costs of developing new homes. Capital from the insurance sector could provide a valve, PIC claims.

The US corporate bond market had no high grade new issues in the run-up to the Thanksgiving holiday but the return of big ticket mergers and acquisitions has raised bankers spirits for 2020.

Surging equity markets and a spate of strong block sales have given equity investors a boost as they approach the end of the year.

HSBC’s anticipated cuts to its global banking and markets (GBM) division may make sense. But they will not be easy to pull off smoothly.

US regulators are taking slow steps towards accepting that climate change is a financial risk, but progress is being made. Appointments have been made to a CFTC committee created to better understand climate-related market risks and one of the members is Mindy Lubber, chief executive of sustainability organisation Ceres. She told GlobalCapital her organisation is working to prepare for a new, green-minded president.

A number of block trades were priced this week as the EMEA equity capital markets ground towards the end of the year. While some banks had expected the week to be busier, the last five days have proven the market is still well and truly open for new business.