A few charts worth discussing
“While Toronto home prices have corrected, they remain elevated relative to median after-tax household income.”
“For the first time since 2021, the momentum factor is being increasingly driven by value stocks.”
“On average, DBRS credit ratings are one notch higher than S&Ps, Moody’s and Fitch. When Canadian firms go with a single bond rating, 80% go with DBRS”
Other charts worth pointing out
Software vs. semiconductor stocks
Crypto fund inflows
Tech fund inflows
U.S. vs. global equities – performance
MSCI U.S. vs. MSCI World ex. U.S. – equity valuations and price levels
U.S. tech capex
Emerging markets vs. developed markets
High yield software/tech credit spreads:
Chinese exports to U.S.
Banks seek out new buyers for Oracle data centre loans
At least $56bn worth of data centre construction loans — supported by the software company’s future leases as part of its $300bn deal with OpenAI — have been given investment-grade ratings, according to people familiar with the deals. These ratings, which are relatively rare for infrastructure construction loans, have allowed banks to attract a much broader base of investors than usual for project finance debt.
While banks have mostly tended to fund project finance loans for the construction of toll roads and airports themselves, the massive deal sizes of recent data centre projects have overwhelmed this source of demand, leaving tech giants keen to find new sources of capital.
The attempts to find buyers for the debt come amid a rapid increase in debt issuance by Big Tech companies, with half of the 10 largest borrowers in the US investment-grade bond market set to be so-called hyperscalers by 2030.
Investor concerns have been growing about Oracle’s aggressive commitment to AI spending, as it bids to compete with rival tech groups, and its debt pile. The software company on Monday separately raised another $25bn in the bond market after pledging to preserve its investment-grade rating by keeping its debt load in check, while it also reassured debt investors with plans to issue new equity.
The ratings on the data centre loans cover Oracle’s leases on $38bn of data centre facilities being built in Texas and Wisconsin, as well as an $18bn data centre campus in New Mexico, which is backed by Blue Owl Capital, according to people familiar with the efforts. Both loans are being marketed to investors.
More than a dozen banks have lent against Oracle’s long-term lease commitment in both transactions, which were priced at 2.5 percentage points above the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), the people said.
Borrowing costs for newer Oracle-linked data centre projects have widened to 3 to 4.5 percentage points above SOFR — levels that are closer to junk-rated debt — according to a research note by TD Cowen published on January 26, based on pricing of debt that has not yet been sold on to investors.
Some investors are hesitating about whether to purchase the two Oracle-backed syndicated loans currently in the market in anticipation of higher returns in future.
A second investor who has purchased other bonds backed by data centre projects said banks were nervous about their increasing exposure to the AI financing boom and were seeking ways to offload the debt they had agreed to provide.
To do so, they had had to offer investors higher interest rates on these deals than expected, the person added.
STACK Infrastructure, which is responsible for the data centre development in New Mexico, confirmed that the transactions were currently in the syndication phase and had received investment-grade credit ratings.
“STACK views the syndication as progressing as expected and with expected market terms,” it said.
Oracle said the financing for the two data centre projects was “secured at market standard rates, progressing through final syndication on schedule, and consistent with investment grade deals”.
This week’s fun finds
Shoutout to interns, Calista and Rhea for putting together an awesome Superbowl-themed Moai. It was a perfect halftime get together for a Friday. Thanks for making us all game-day ready.
The 26 Best Super Bowl Ads of the Past 26 Years
Every year, advertisers spend millions for 30 seconds of Super Bowl glory. The best ones become cultural moments that outlive the game itself.
Ahead of Super Bowl 2026, ADWEEK revisits the 26 commercials of the past 26 years that proved worthy of the hype.
