UK 20-Year Bond Auction: A Strong Start to 2024!
Today's successful auction of the UK 4.75% 2043 bonds, raising GBP 2.25 billion at a yield of 4.391%, represents a significant rise from the 1.36% yield in the previous auction in October 2021. 📈 Highlighting investor confidence, the auction achieved a strong bid-to-cover ratio of 3.6. Notably, the 20-year UK Gilt has climbed nearly 40bps from its late 2023 low. 🔍 With core inflation trends showing signs of stabilization, market participants are keenly awaiting signals from upcoming wage and inflation data. We are observing keen interest in how the yield curve will react, particularly with the anticipated new 30Y gilt syndication on the horizon. More steepening could be on the cards. 💷 Considering the estimated £76 billion gilt supply for Q1 2024, a key question emerges: Can today's robust auction mitigate the recent selloff, primarily driven by substantial global duration issuance and reassessment of aggressive rate cut expectations? Source: Bloomberg
BREAKING: UK Metro Bank shares plunge 50% as it tries to urgently raise £600m capital
- Metro Bank is seeking to raise up to £600mn after its share price fell almost 50 per cent in recent weeks, said people with knowledge of the plan. The UK challenger bank is in talks with investors about raising £250mn in equity funding and £350mn in debt to shore up its balance sheet, the people said. - The talks came after regulators last month failed to approve a request from Metro to lower the capital requirements attached to its mortgage business. - Bank Crisis - Round II ? Source: FT
