According to Olaf Tölke, team leader, corporates, Scope Ratings, low interest rates are a major problem because they don't reflect the true cost of risk. The result is that enterprises and individuals have taken on more and more debt simply because it is cheap.

Financial markets have staged a remarkable recovery since the fall of Lehman Brothers, but it's been a joyless affair,” says Vice Chairman Edward Bonham Carter. “The ending of central bank support, both feared and wanted, hangs like a sword of Damocles over the market.”

Loomis, Sayles & Company, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, announced that Kevin Perry, portfolio manager on the senior loan team, will retire in March 2019 after 17 years with the company and 37 years in the industry.

2018 has been marked by various emerging market crises. From Turkey to Argentina, confidence has eroded, resulting in bond and currency chaos. There is a growing focus on South Africa, and our analysis suggests that will continue.

Nomura Securities Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, Inc., announced that it has priced a three-year Green Bond issue valued at 5 billion yen for Hitachi Zosen Corporation. Nomura acted as bookrunner for the offering, which was the first such offering by a Japanese manufacturer.