Coronavirus

John Hempton, the Australian short seller and self-styled eccentric, believes fraudulent companies will soon become evident in the corporate rubble left by the coronavirus pandemic. Hempton, who has bet against 1,100 companies over the course of his career, explained how his hedge fund Bronte Capital goes about finding rotten eggs in business and finance.

Ukraine has finally accessed International Monetary Fund support, as the country won access to a $5bn stand-by arrangement this week, but more long running negotiations for an extended fund facility (EFF) are on hold for now.

African telecommunications infrastructure firm Helios Tower’s $750m bond this week tested the waters for high yield corporate issuance from emerging markets.

Each week, Keeping Tabs brings you the very best of what we in the GlobalCapital newsroom have found most useful, interesting and informative from around the web. This week: a debate about the riskiness of CLOs to US banks, the role of the euro and more.

The European Central Bank’s chief supervisor has spoken out this week against the complexity of the capital triggers that can lead to restrictions on payments of additional tier one (AT1) coupons. He expressed his fear that these arrangements could be having a negative impact on bank lending behaviour during the coronavirus pandemic.

France and Denmark have increased the size of their annual funding programmes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with the former making the third upward revision to its borrowing needs in as many months.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank took home Rmb3bn ($424m) from its debut Panda bond on Thursday, at a price that was well below levels of its comparables. Senior officials at the Beijing-based supranational bank told GlobalCapital China that it wasn’t all smooth sailing, but the deal shows the potential of the renminbi debt market.

Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings raked in $500m from bond investors on Thursday.

Bond investors and analysts expect Argentina to extend Friday’s restructuring deadline yet again amid continued promising signs that a deal is near, but some warn it is wrong to assume an agreement is a foregone conclusion.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has given potential leeway to national competent authorities (NCAs) considering the introduction of open access rules next month.

As the highest yielding sovereigns in Latin America — excluding those explicitly on the path to restructuring — bonds from El Salvador and Costa Rica have finally caught a strong bid. But fiscal fundamentals are deteriorating sharply.

Conditions in the financial institutions bond market worsened this week but plenty of senior and subordinated bonds still got away. With credit spreads unpredictable, the supply outlook remains favourable, said bankers.