US primary market issuances stood at $11.95bn vs. $6.1bn in the week prior. Of this, IG issuances were at $11.6bn vs. $4.7bn in the week prior led by Celanese Holdings’ $6.5bn four-trancher and Fidelty Information’s $2.5bn four trancher. HY issuances were at $350mn vs. $450mn in the week before, coming from a single deal by Garden Spinco, a wholly-owned subsidiary of 3M. In North America, there were a total of 16 upgrades and 19 downgrades combined across the three major rating agencies last week. US IG funds saw $5.8bn in outflows in the week ended July 8 as per Lipper data, following an outflow of $5.2bn in the week prior. Bloomberg notes that investors are continuing to exit IG bond funds, lengthening the longest losing streak on record to fifteen consecutive weeks. The total amount of withdrawals during this stretch has now reached $65bn. HY funds meanwhile saw inflows of $889mn vs. $1.6bn in outflows in the week before. LatAm saw $340mn in deals last week after $200mn in the week prior, with Ecuador DPR raising $300mn. In South America, there were no upgrades and 2 downgrades across the major rating agencies. EU Corporate G3 issuance rose to $17bn vs. $12.7bn in the week prior – Banca Nazionale del Lavoro raising €3.75bn followed by KFW and Credit Agricole raising €1bn each. Across the European region, there were 9 upgrades and 35 downgrades across the three major rating agencies. The GCC G3 region saw $1.1bn in deals vs. $4bn in the week prior, led by First Abu Dhabi Bank and Emirates NBD raising $300mn and $175mn respectively. Across the Middle East/Africa region, there were no upgrades and 3 downgrades across the three major rating agencies. The APAC ex-Japan G3 region saw $2.8bn worth of new deals vs. $2.3bn in the week prior – Westpac raised €750mn, followed by Korea Gas raising $500mn and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank raising $400mn. In the APAC region, there were 4 upgrades and 17 downgrades combined across the three major rating agencies last week.
