With the Australian dollar having recovered sharply from recent lows against its US counterpart, the idea that it might hit parity soon has resurfaced. The level was nearly reached a year ago but this time around resurgent Chinese demand for Australian commodities and worsening fears about the US dollar have given the prospect more credibility. John Noonan reports.

Deutsche Bank's capital-raising bias towards the retail markets has come in handy for a borrower believed to be still prone to the potential vestiges of institutional investor indignation almost nine months after its decision to extend its Lower Tier 2 paper. Whether a step-up benchmark-sized Deutsche bond can be executed smoothly is questionable at this juncture, but the success of its non step-up Tier 1 deal is a constructive move. Malini Menon reports.

The launch of the first CMBS in the Australian market since mid-2007 has generated hope that life may be returning to Australia’s moribund CMBS market. But any such hope looks misplaced: the deal had specific attributes that contributed to its success, and it is not likely to herald a broader resurrection of the sector. Hugh Chow reports.

OTC derivatives reform has spread beyond the main centres of the US and Europe as central counterparty clearing is rolled out into more nascent Asian derivatives markets. Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan were the first to join the global trend, but South Korea has now jumped on the bandwagon. Wendy Mock reports.

The leveraged loan market last week celebrated a US$4bn financing package backing Warner Chilcott's US$3.1bn acquisition of Procter & Gamble's prescription drugs business. The transaction, one of the largest this year, should be well received, based on rational leverage multiples on cashflow stemming from the acquisition. If that is the case, it will set the standard for future M&A; financings. Michelle Sierra Laffitte reports.

There was consternation in the high-yield bond market last week as the apparently sound Wind Hellas announced results that suggested only a balance-sheet restructuring could save it from a liquidity crisis. The unexpected turn of events saw some of Wind Hellas's €3bn of bonds halve in price, while others rallied as the market struggled to work out how the situation would unfold. Donal O'Donovan reports.

After a painfully slow first half of the year, the Eastern Europe and Africa primary market enjoyed a bumper July that almost doubled Eurobond supply in the region. Nevertheless, banks must continue to fight hard for a reduced amount of business, since issuance is not expected to pick up substantially any time soon. John Weavers reports.

The Chinese ECM market is set to be extremely busy, with 19 companies in line to tap the market for a combined US$18.3bn. Signs of the government looking to curb overheated sectors and overcapacity have led investors to become more picky on IPOs, with only industry leaders guaranteed success. Fiona Lau reports.

Johnson Controls is seeking to buy back convertibles issued less than six months ago. The move highlights not only a fundamental turn in industrial companies for the better, but the overall improvement in the credit markets. Similar securities from other industrials are coveted by investors, making it prohibitively expensive to remove them. Stephen Lacey reports.