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◆ Gulf issuers turn to private markets 

◆ Public sector and corporate borrowers to bring forward plans 

◆ Banks re-enter covered and unsecured funding markets

US vice-president JD Vance set off on Friday for Pakistan (pictured) for peace talks to end the war with Iran. The talks are part of a two-week ceasefire, announced on Tuesday, that rejuvenated the primary bond market. We spent much of this week's podcast discussing how public sector issuers, banks and investment grade companies would be altering their bond funding plans to take advantage of this positive but unpredictable opportunity to raise capital.

Certainly the ceasefire boosted issuance activity, following Wednesday's rally in asset prices. Banks were more active in unsecured and covered bond funding and there is an urgency among market participants for IG companies and sovereigns, supranationals and agencies to use the time wisely to bring deals while they can. But as we discover, it is not quite as simple as showing up with open orderbooks, given the recent disruption to markets and what lies in store in the months ahead.

We also discussed how the Iran war is the latest situation to arise from Donald Trump's second term as US president to showcase the euro market as a solid, reliable alternative to dollar funding as it begins to attract more issuance from Asia as well as the US.

But for borrowers in the Middle East, public markets seem beyond the pale even with the ceasefire in place. We examine how several of the region's issuers have turned to private placements to fill their coffers.