The TwentyFour Blog

With most European banks having now reported their full-year 2025 results, we see the sector carrying solid momentum into 2026.

News of governments achieving their budgetary objectives or borrowing less than market forecasts has been a rarity in the last few decades.

Issuers in corporate credit have started this year on the front foot, capitalising on the current supportive market conditions and front loading their funding plans in anticipation of higher funding needs from the hyperscalers in the US, among other factors.

As Jerome Powell enters his final months at the helm of the Federal Reserve (Fed), market participants have been busy analysing the past speeches of his nominated replacement, Kevin Warsh, with the aim of forming a view as to how his hand is likely to be played.

The month of January has been a very eventful one for markets, mostly courtesy of geopolitical events, ranging from the capture of Venezuela’s sitting president and arguably culminating in Mark Carney’s speech at Davos.

Oracle returned to the bond market yesterday, just five months after its $18 billion September jumbo deal, finally removing the cloud of uncertainty around supply that has hung over the credit.

Foreign exchange markets have taken centre stage again in recent weeks. President Trump’s apparent indifference to the relatively steep dollar depreciation trend of late has raised a few eyebrows and added fuel to the dollar fire.

One of the many unusual developments in financial markets last year was the decoupling between German Bunds and other safe haven G7 government bonds, most notably US Treasuries. Since the inception of the euro, it’s been quite a rare event that Bunds and Treasuries move in opposite directions for sustained periods of time.

2026 has started with a wave of hybrid issuance, with names like Enel and Telefonica leading the charge in a busy primary market. On 12 January, with markets firmly open despite geopolitical headlines, Telefonica proactively managed its outstanding hybrid maturities by announcing a tender offer for its three shortest outstanding hybrids, alongside the issuance of two new euro-denominated green hybrid bonds.