United States

Chinese logistics firm ZTO Express has sent out a request for proposals for an IPO that could raise as much as $1bn, according to sources.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME) said last week that it is launching a new futures contract in March designed to offer exposure to newly offered equity shares and corporate spin-offs.

Options market participants have demanded higher premiums to bear exposure to volatility in the British pound after talks in Brussels failed to produce a decisive deal to help UK prime minister David Cameron win the upcoming referendum.

The past week has brought no sign of leveraged loan new issuance in either the US or Europe, and several deals have struggled in syndication.

Yangtze River Development is looking to raise as much as $57.5m for a project in Wuhan, China, by listing on the New York Stock Exchange, according to a filing with the US regulator.

In this round-up, PBoC sets a volatile fix for USD/CNY suggesting it has changed its methodology again, JP Morgan AM gets approval for a new MRF product, BlackRock boosts holdings in Chinese ADRs by 500% and Safe plans more RMB convertibility schemes in FTZs. Plus, a recap of the top GlobalRMB stories this week.

Apple’s $12bn nine tranche bond this week deserved plaudits for kick-starting the US corporate bond market after weeks of nerves over volatility.

Apple's $12bn nine-tranche bond this week has not only kick-started a US corporate bond market that had been drained by weeks of volatility, but also signalled the beginning of a wave of supply from US issuers that is expected to hit European shores.

Regulators in the US are close to proposing rules that would require banks to lock in derivatives counterparties in other countries to US resolution regimes and give up their termination rights.

The shrinking of balance sheets has become a common theme in recent years, particularly in the financial sector. Investors are punishing banks that are either unwilling or unable to implement a more conservative financial strategy.

US biotechnology company Amgen made its dash into primary corporate bond markets on Thursday with a dual tranche deal that took €2bn out of the market.

HCL Technologies is preparing to launch a $1bn float in the US, which would make it the first Indian company to list there in more than two years.