UK

The most important event this week is likely to be this Wednesday’s US Consumer Prices Index (CPI) release.

The first four months of this year have seen €11.6bn in gross Additional Tier 1 (AT1) issuance from European banks, across euros, dollars and sterling markets.

Money supply measures such as M1 and M2 enjoyed a relatively brief period of fame and glory just after the pandemic.

Following yesterday’s release of Italian energy company Enel's 2023 annual sustainability report, it was confirmed that they had failed to meet the emissions reduction key performance indicator (KPI) linked to a number of their sustainability linked bonds (SLBs).

Volatility made an unwanted come back this week. A combination of rising tensions in the Middle East, strong Consumer Price Index (CPI) and labour market data in the US in previous days, and markets that looked somewhat expensive in certain sectors, all conspired to cause a widening in spreads and a correction in equity prices.

On this webinar in our Spotlight on ESG series, a member of our Investment Grade team discussed fossil fuel financing and how we engage with banks on this subject.

The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) surprised on the upside for the third month in a row. There was nowhere to hide in the release with a majority of sub categories and sub aggregates posting worse numbers than expected.

We previously blogged about Thames Water in July last year but it’s rapidly refloated to the top of UK credit market concerns. Following more recent events, where do we think Thames Water go from here?

After delivering a stunning 2023, collateralised loan obligations (CLOs) were once again one of the top performers in Q1. That leaves us with the question, where do we go from here?

On this latest educational webinar in our Spotlight on ESG series, Charlene Hogg (Head of Legal) and Sujan Nadarajah (Partner, Chief Compliance Officer) were joined by our guest speaker, Michaela Walker (Partner & Product Group Head, Eversheds Sutherland), to advise on the various relevant regulatory changes, including the impact of ESG and sustainability factors on funds and fund managers.

Last week's data deluge from the UK painted a mixed picture for the economy, offering insights into inflation, growth, and the possible path for interest rates.

Income has returned. After a couple of barren years, yields in high-quality bonds that were not too long ago returning just 2% or 3% are now set to bring in 7% to 8%. And this jump in yields looks to be a game changer for investors.