US primary market issuances were lower at $11.4bn vs. $25.7bn in the week prior. IG issuances stood at $9.85bn led by Comcast’s $2.5bn three-trancher and American Express’ $1.5bn issuance. HY issuances stood at $1.5bn with Ford raising the entire amount. In North America, there were a total of 29 upgrades and 73 downgrades across the three major rating agencies last week. As per Lipper data, US IG funds saw $2.1bn in outflows in the week ended November 2, an eleventh straight week of outflows while HY funds saw $4.3bn in inflows. LatAm saw no new deals for a second consecutive week. In South America, there was 1 upgrade and 10 downgrades across the major rating agencies. EU Corporate G3 issuance dropped sharply to $8bn vs.$27.9bn one week prior – banking majors NatWest raised $1.7bn via a two-trancher and Deutsche Bank raised $1bn to lead the tables. Across the European region, there were 13 upgrades and 29 downgrades. The GCC G3 primary bond market saw no new issuances for a second straight week. Across the Middle East/Africa region, there were 5 upgrades and 7 downgrades across the three major rating agencies. APAC ex-Japan G3 issuances were at only $450mn vs. $410mn in the week prior – Liyuan International raised €130mn, Macquarie Group raised $110mn and Shengzhou Investment raised $100mn to lead the table. In the APAC region, there was 1 upgrade and 14 downgrades combined across the three rating agencies last week.
