Five months into 2017 and it already is a record euro bond issuance by African States. After a choppy and extremely unfriendly 2016, everyone is throwing caution to the wind to take advantage of low yields. Record oversubscriptions have been the hallmark of these bonds. To emphasise on the irrational exuberance currently exhibited by investors here, even unstable nations are in on the fun.
https://www.bloomberg.co...o-easy-on-african-bonds
In the world of a hiking fed (possible unwind of its balance sheet), a tapering ECB and a fire fighting PBoC this will be an epic show. Once this honeymoon window slams shut, euro bonds will be put on ice for a very long time. If the fireworks don't start before the end of this year then 2018 will be extremely entertaining.

This bubble just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Junk rated sovereigns join the super long bond club. Argentina issues a 100yr bond at a handsome yield of 7.9%.
https://www.wsj.com/arti...nds-1497905921?mod=e2tw
It doesn't get better than this. Markets are not pricing any kind of risk at this point in time.

Some bottom it will be...GFC on steroids; will last longer and be more devastating. Just like when the stock market is toppping out, the crappiest stocks rally the hardest and have the most fun, this is the sovereign version. For a country that defaults every 25-30 years on average, Argentina commanding a yield of 7.9% is absolute madness. At this rate, I wouldn't be shocked if Mozambique issued a 5+ year bond with a sub-10% yield.

Treasury had indicated earlier that they will float a second euro bond later this year. Going by the prevailing yields, the allure of a eurobond is almost irresistible for KE especially when one peeks at the fiscal end of things. However, timing is also of the essence...delay too much and another eurobond issuance is out of the question coz soon enough yields will turn the corner. A second eurobond complicates an already precarious situation liquidity wise.

The pound will come in for some serious beating if Corbyn ends up taking the mantle. The euro is saddled with a multitude of problems and one of them will cause a contagion sooner rather than later. That makes for a thinning set of options for investors. The dollar index hasn't had any substantial movement since late 2014 in spite of the four rate hikes...2.5 years of sideways action.

China deleveraging, EU/euro capitulation and a probable US recession points to an action packed 2018. A full blown sovereign debt crisis added to that mix implies very few survivors/winners...that deflation won't be funny. Initially, I thought yields would start rising slowly then gather pace along the way however it is likely that a momentous lift off is very much on the cards more so if a larger than average economy is caught in the cross-hairs.

Kenya's GDP stats doubted by many, are further questioned nay even likened to the Chinese version of fudging. http://wp.me/p8hE44-3wp

I can't attest to the statistical veracity or rigorous nature of stanbic's PMI but giving it the benefit of the doubt it has indicated a contraction is already in play MoM. All this while the official numbers suggests the complete opposite.

Credit down, cement consumption down(inclusive of sgr), electricity consumption down, imports down, staggering KES (which should be firming up given the USD slide), agricultural output down in addition most of the other subsectors(if not all) are down or flattish...it doesn't paint the same picture as the official stats do.

Dow is on steroids