Rising Japanese bond yields have encouraged global investors and companies to increase their hedging of Japanese interest rate risk for the first time in years, banks and consultants say, ahead of Japan’s snap general election this weekend in which prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party is projected to win a landslide victory.
SpaceX has acquired its sister company xAI for US$250bn, in a deal that will provide some much-needed financial support to the lossmaking AI and social media platform – but which could complicate the rocket maker’s plans to launch the world’s biggest ever IPO in June.
The stalled sovereign debt-for-development swap market is set for its first deals in more than a year after a notable new player created by DFD pioneer Ramzi Issa signed up a leading speciality insurer to back its transactions.
After five years of under-budget privatisation receipts, the Indian government appears to have finally decided to take advantage of the country's booming equity capital market to sell more stakes in state-owned companies.
The UK's Transition Finance Council is getting ready to publish overarching global guidelines to assess the credibility of companies and groups' transition plans as the architecture to scale up transition finance continues to move into place.
Alphabet redefines art of the possible with record bond sale
Alphabet last week threw down the gauntlet to its rivals with a groundbreaking US$31.5bn-equivalent bond sale across three currencies that broke multiple records – and underlined its advantage among the small set of technology companies rushing to raise money to finance their ambitious AI investment plans.
Some Chinese issuers are expected to drop their Hong Kong listing plans and raise funds domestically instead after China relaxed follow-on rules for good quality or high-technology companies.
Following a challenging few months for chemicals borrowers in the leveraged finance market, investors are flocking to a US$1.725bn-equivalent dual-currency loan that backs the US$1.8bn acquisition of DuPont’s heat-resistant fibre business Aramids by US resins manufacturer Arclin.
The repo market is the heartbeat of bond markets. Like a real heartbeat, when all is well, there is nothing more boring. But when things go wrong … watch out.
Defence bond frameworks to help military financing push
The effort to open up debt and equity capital markets to finance the growth of defence and security companies would be helped by more transparency about their operations and the wider adoption of voluntary bond frameworks to showcase the industry's benefits, according to those working to help defence companies raise money for investment.
SoftBank levers up to raise OpenAI stake as new US$100bn round nears
SoftBank Group sold some of its most profitable investments and took on billions of dollars of debt so that it could triple its bet on OpenAI at the end of last year, in an indication of how Masayoshi Son is increasingly tying his company’s fortunes to the success or failure of the AI outfit.
Moves – Top Goldman lawyer Ruemmler resigns after Epstein disclosures
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs chief legal officer Kathy Ruemmler has resigned, CEO David Solomon said on Thursday, after recent documents by the US Justice Department showed she accepted gifts from late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and advised him on how to address media inquiries regarding his crimes.
Alphabet redefines art of the possible with record bond sale
Alphabet last week threw down the gauntlet to its rivals with a groundbreaking US$31.5bn-equivalent bond sale across three currencies that broke multiple records – and underlined its advantage among the small set of technology companies rushing to raise money to finance their ambitious AI investment plans.
The investment corridor between the Middle East and Asia has been heating up, as bond investors in both regions look to each other for attractive options in a volatile world.
Panama readies rare dollar bond sale as spreads tighten
Panama is preparing to fund a debt tender with its first dollar bond sale in two years, as fixed-income investors take a more favorable view of a Central American country that has been teetering just above junk territory.
MA Money encountered some indigestion for its seventh and largest RMBS issue to date, the upsized A$1.25bn-equivalent (US$880m) non-conforming MA Money Residential Securitisation Trust 2026-1, which included the issuer's inaugural yen tranche.
London-based Fasanara Capital is joining Park Square and Golub Capital in the latest wave of managers pressing ahead with the development of European CLO platforms.
A raft of new private credit CLOs in Europe will come as a relief for a market that has lacked enough issuance of new broadly syndicated leveraged loan deals to fuel the CLO machine. There are potentially eight private credit CLOs making their way into the market, sources say, reflecting the boom in private credit loans and increasing investor comfort with a sector that could offer higher spreads versus CLOs backed by broadly syndicated loans.
Securitisations backed by buy now, pay later receivables could emerge in Europe for the first time as surging e-commerce volumes expand lending to higher-risk borrowers and regulatory tightening boosts investor confidence, according to a Moody's report.
Ledn liquidates some loans ahead of first bitcoin-backed ABS: S&P
Ledn, which is preparing a rare bitcoin-backed structured finance offering, sold a "significant share" of the loans it planned to securitise in the deal over roughly the past week as the value of the digital currency fell, S&P said in a presale report on Monday.
China and Philippines to pioneer biodiversity bonds
Two leading Asian borrowers are poised to take biodiversity financing to a new level as China and the Philippines prepare the first sovereign bonds that will dedicate proceeds to addressing biodiversity loss and protecting natural ecosystems.
Tokyo and London are collaborating on transition finance as the two global financial centres join forces to develop the fledgling transition bond market.
Emirates NBD sailed through with its debut green bond in euros on Tuesday, in what also marked the bank’s return to the currency after a more than 10-year absence.
Blue bond buyers Fidelity and T Rowe Price supported a US$50m private placement by Turkey's Isbank that marked the country’s first water-related offering taken up by commercial investors.
Some Chinese issuers are expected to drop their Hong Kong listing plans and raise funds domestically instead after China relaxed follow-on rules for good quality or high-technology companies.
South Korea's record-setting stock market helped spur interest in Kbank’s revived W498bn (US$346m) Korea Exchange IPO, which finally succeeded after three years of struggle.
Singapore-headquartered DayOne Data Centres is working with Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley on an up to US$5bn US IPO planned for this year, people with knowledge of the transaction said.
Japanese mobile payments platform PayPay publicly filed on Thursday for a Nasdaq IPO to invest in the business and allow an existing shareholder (likely SoftBank) to cash out.
Following a challenging few months for chemicals borrowers in the leveraged finance market, investors are flocking to a US$1.725bn-equivalent dual-currency loan that backs the US$1.8bn acquisition of DuPont’s heat-resistant fibre business Aramids by US resins manufacturer Arclin.
A trio of high-profile buyouts has enlivened the European leveraged finance market, providing much needed new money supply, although bankers remain sceptical over a meaningful resurgence in M&A as the pipeline remains frustratingly light.
Spanish waste management company Urbaser is expected to keep its existing portable debt stack intact, and will not require new loans and bonds to facilitate its US$6.6bn buyout by EQT and Blackstone, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Lenders to French retailer Casino are prepared to take over the company with a plan that aims to reduce the company's €1.4bn reinstated term loan maturing in 2027 to €500m, in a bid to make to the company more attractive to any future buyer, sources said.
Skipping a beat: FSB points to hidden fragilities in repo market
The repo market is the heartbeat of bond markets. Like a real heartbeat, when all is well, there is nothing more boring. But when things go wrong … watch out.
‘Software-mageddon’ underlines the K-shaped environment for tech bankers
The AI boom has been backed by investor enthusiasm – and their money – on an unprecedented scale. Investment bankers have high hopes of a huge year for deals. But just like the broader economy, will this be a K-shaped market for tech deals?
Stablecoins: meet the new boss, same as the old boss
How stable is a stablecoin? That is a question that S&P attempts to answer via its Global Ratings’ Stablecoin Stability Assessment, a product designed to quantify a stablecoin’s ability to maintain its peg to a fiat currency. It produces a score from 1, very strong, to 5, weak.
A quick glance at investment bank share prices over the past year tells a story: business is booming and the outlook is rosy. The question now, in the middle of reporting and bonus season, is how much of the profits will bank bosses have to give away to their staff.
IFR hosts a comprehensive programme of conferences, seminars and roundtables throughout the year, providing authoritative insight into the trends and outlooks for specific regions and asset classes.
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