A few charts worth discussing
Other charts worth pointing out
Bond downgrades outpace upgrades in 2025
Canadian housing prices
U.S. tariff revenue
S&P 500 Index and percentage of members at new highs
Largest cumulative losses before companies became profitable
Oil price needed for fiscal balance by country
Currency appreciation vs. the U.S. dollar
U.S. restaurants by cuisine type
US corporate bond sales hit $95bn in busiest week since Covid pandemic
Corporate borrowers raised more than $95bn from 55 investment-grade bond deals in the first full week of January, the highest weekly volume since May 2020 and the busiest start to a year on record, according to LSEG data.
Financial institutions and European groups were among the week’s largest issuers, as companies took advantage of strong investor demand for high-quality dollar debt that has pushed borrowing costs close to their lowest level relative to US Treasuries since the global financial crisis.
Morgan Stanley forecasts investment-grade bond sales this year of $2.25tn, eclipsing the 2020 record of $1.9tn.
Many bond offerings during the week were significantly oversubscribed. French telecoms company Orange raised $6bn after attracting an order book of more than $34bn across five tranches of debt, according to people familiar with the transaction. Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and US chipmaker Broadcom also raised $5bn and $4.5bn, respectively.
The new year issuance boom came as markets largely shrugged off the dramatic US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Investors continue to attach little risk premium to US corporate debt, with the cost of borrowing for investment-grade companies at just 0.79 percentage points above government debt, according to Ice BofA data.
Europe’s market for investment-grade debt has also had a busy start to the year, with Italian energy company Enel SpA and French waste management firm Veolia both pricing deals worth at least €2bn this week, while cosmetics manufacturer L’Oréal issued a €1.75bn bond.
Earnings of US high-grade issuers are expected to have grown 11.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to Bank of America estimates.
Insurance companies and pension funds are also piling into high-grade bonds to lock in higher long-term yields ahead of further rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year.
Still, the slim extra yields that corporate debt offers relative to ultra-safe Treasuries are keeping some investors on the sidelines.
This week’s fun finds
While visiting from Montreal, Catherine introduced the team to a hot sauce collaboration between Lord’s hotsauce and Georges St-Pierre. Common observations were: “Kevin’s head is shining”, “I can feel it in my ears”, and “My nose hairs are tingling”.
We asked over 100 people in sports which leaders they most admire. Here are the top 40
Our goal with this list was simple: We asked a bunch of people in North American sports to rank the five leaders they most admired in 2025.
We picked the phrase “most admired” because it is intentionally vague. You don’t have to know someone to admire them. You can also admire leaders for different reasons: The way they communicate, the way they handle adversity or the spotlight, and, of course, their success.
That’s the great thing about leadership: It’s subjective. What works for one person might not work for someone else.
