Fixed Income
Ukrainian Eurobonds remained in a downward correction corridor last week even before the negative news this past weekend that the IMF has delayed consideration of Kyiv’s next loan disbursement due to concerns over President Poroshenko’s decision to back an economic blockade of the separatist-occupied Donbass territories. Influencing the market last week was the US Federal Reserve’s decision to raise its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point, nudging global bond yields higher. The move, widely anticipated by financial markets, takes the US overnight funds rate to a target range of 0.75% to 1.0% and sets the Fed on a likely path of more hikes this year. In Ukrainian internal developments, the country’s richest industrialist Rinat Akhmetov finally appeared to lose control over his assets in the occupied territories after managing to avoid this misfortune during almost three years of conflict in the Donbass. We roughly estimate that Akhmetov’s energy arm DTEK and his metall
