Debt

Emerging market bonds have suffered in recent months, but according to Alain-Nsiona Defise, Head of Emerging Corporates, Mary-Therese Barton, Head of Emerging Market Debt at Pictet Asset Management, fears of a renewed currency and debt crunch are overblown.

10 year US Treasury yields crossed the psychologically important 3% threshold in the 2nd quarter, the highest level in four years - buying opportunity or a falling knife? Given these critical levels and an uptick in US inflation, investors are justifiably worried about spiralling rates.

State Street Global Advisors, the asset management arm of State Street Corporation announced the launch of a euro currency hedged share class of the SPDR Thomson Reuters Global Convertible Bond UCITS ETF.

Ostrum Asset Management and Natixis’ Corporate & Investment Banking arm are joining forces to address their clients’ interest in alternative investment solutions by setting up a co-investment offering on real asset private debt in three strategic sectors for the group – real estate, infrastructure and aviation.

Heavy scrutiny by supervisors has put the balance sheet clean-up plans of Italian banks under the spotlight; reducing NPEs has emerged as a key element of the banks’ business plans. Intesa and UniCredit look well placed to achieve their targets by 2021.