Markets & Trading
Fixed income issuance records, equity market moves, corporate activity, and the structural shifts in how capital is allocated and risk is traded. Intelligence briefs on markets, updated as events warrant.
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12 Mar 2026Fixed Income · Global
Investment-Grade Issuance Hits $185bn in First Week of March, Breaking Monthly Record
Global investment-grade corporate bond issuance hit $185 billion in the first week of March, the busiest start to any month on record. Treasurers are locking in funding before what several large banks privately describe as a "window of vulnerability" around the US tariff escalation schedule in April. Spreads remain historically tight at 87 basis points over Treasuries.
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11 Mar 2026Regulation · United States
Citadel Securities Files for Banking Licence, Blurring Broker-Bank Boundary
Citadel Securities filed with the SEC for a banking licence, a move that would make the market-maker subject to Federal Reserve supervision but grant access to the discount window and the interbank payments system. The filing marks the most significant blurring of the broker-bank boundary since the 2008 crisis.
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10 Mar 2026Equities · China
CSI 300 Falls 4.2% as NPC Growth Target Disappoints Without Stimulus Package
Shanghai's CSI 300 index fell 4.2% on Wednesday after the National People's Congress set a GDP growth target of "around 5%" without announcing the large-scale stimulus package that foreign investors had anticipated. The sell-off was concentrated in property and infrastructure names. Southbound flows from Hong Kong turned negative for the first time in six weeks.
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9 Mar 2026Fintech · Lending
Stripe Capital Surpasses $12bn in Cumulative Originations as Embedded Lending Matures
Stripe Capital has surpassed $12 billion in cumulative loan originations since launching in 2019. The embedded lending service, which extends credit to Stripe merchants based on payments data rather than credit scores, now operates in 16 countries. Charge-off rates remain below 3%, the company said, outperforming comparable consumer credit benchmarks.
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