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25.10.2026
Weekly bond digest: October 19 – October 25, 2026
Weekly bond digest: October 19 – October 25, 2026
159

Yield Curves

German government bonds rallied as investors looked for safety. The 10-year yield fell 8 basis points to 3.35%, and the 30-year dropped 11 basis points to 3.68%, while the 2-year slipped 4 basis points to 3.05%. Two things drove the move: falling technology shares and growing stress in French bonds. The gap between French and German 10-year yields widened by more than 30 basis points to about 172. There was no single trigger: sentiment toward France has been weakening for weeks, and protests last weekend added to the worries. The gap between Italian and German 10-year yields also widened, by 16 basis points to 122. The European Central Bank meets on October 29 and is expected to keep rates on hold.

EUR Germany Sovereign Curve

US Treasuries also rallied, led by long-term bonds. The 10-year yield fell 8 basis points to 5.00%, the 30-year dropped 10 basis points to 5.32%, and the 2-year eased 3 basis points to 4.68%. On Wednesday the 10-year yield had its biggest one-day fall since the US regional bank failures of March 2023. Investors bought Treasuries as a safe place while French bonds came under stress and AI-related shares fell. Markets now expect fewer Fed rate rises over the next year, and a December hike is no longer fully priced in. The Fed meets on October 28 and is widely expected to hold rates.

USD US Sovereign Curve

UK gilts moved in two directions. The 2-year yield rose 4 basis points to 4.91%, while the 10-year dipped 2 basis points to 5.36% and the 30-year fell 8 basis points to 5.76%. Short-term yields rose because strong data made a Bank of England rate rise in November look almost certain. Unemployment fell from 4.9% to 4.7%, and inflation rose to 3.5%, slightly above forecasts. Long-term gilts gained on expectations that the government will sell fewer long-dated bonds after Chancellor John Healey's budget on October 28.

GBP UK Sovereign Curve

For long-term investors who can accept short-term price swings, medium-term German government bonds and 10-year UK gilts, now yielding about 5.36%, look attractive at today's levels.

Top gainers

Ukraine's 2035 bond led the gainers, up 4.7%, in a week when Russia and Ukraine agreed a local ceasefire and planned new peace talks for November. Paramount Global's 2031 bond rose 4.0%, recovering last week's 3.7% drop. IT services company Atos's 2030 bond gained 3.1%. Its operations generated cash in the third quarter for the first time since its turnaround plan began, and it confirmed its full-year targets. Long-dated bonds also rose as government bond yields fell: Ireland's 2055 bond and Bahrain's 2037 dollar bond each gained 2.1%.

Name Cur Price change
1w (%)
Yield Risk Level
Ukraine 4.5% Feb 2035 USD 4,70% 14,33% Very High
Paramount Global 4.95% Jan 2031 USD 3,97% 9,73% High
Atos 5% Dec 2030 EUR 3,07% 8,61% Very High
Ireland 3.15% Oct 2055 EUR 2,14% 3,80% Very Low
Bahrain 7.5% Jul 2037 USD 2,11% 8,34% Very High
Ireland 2% Feb 2045 EUR 2,08% 3,67% Very Low
MIT USA 4.678% Jul 2114 USD 1,92% 6,03% Very Low
Caltech 3.65% Sep 2119 USD 1,84% 6,06% Very Low
EU 3.75% Apr 2042 EUR 1,80% 4,01% Very Low
US Treasury 4.625% Nov 2044 USD 1,65% 5,35% Very Low

Top losers

Riskier bonds fell as the extra yield on US junk bonds rose to a 17-month high. UK telecoms group Virgin Media O2 took four of the five biggest drops: its bonds, listed as Virgin Secured and Vmed UK, lost between 4.9% and 6.4%. Its debt has been under pressure since the UK competition regulator raised concerns this month about a deal that was expected to bring in about £1 billion to cut debt. Cable companies were also among the weakest parts of the junk bond market this week. Student lender Navient's 2030 bond fell 5.0% in the wider sell-off.

Name Cur Price change
1w (%)
Yield Risk Level
Virgin Secured 4.25% Jan 2030 GBP -6,39% 18,47% High
Vmed UK 5.625% Apr 2032 EUR -5,94% 15,11% High
Virgin Secured 4.125% Aug 2030 GBP -5,70% 16,32% High
Navient 9.375% Jul 2030 USD -4,99% 9,93% High
Vmed UK 4% Jan 2029 GBP -4,93% 19,77% High
Virgin Secured 5.25% May 2029 GBP -4,73% 19,31% High
Gabon 6.625% Feb 2031 USD -4,17% 13,81% Very High
Pegasus Hava 8% Sep 2031 USD -3,62% 11,45% High
Ecuador 5% Jul 2040 USD -3,43% 10,92% Very High
Community Health Systems 9.75% Jan 2034 USD -2,93% 10,63% Very High

Rating changes

Note: only long-term senior unsecured ratings were taken into account.

Downgrades outnumbered upgrades this week, 20 to 16. Moody's raised chipmaker TSMC to Aa2, citing its strong market position and finances, and S&P lifted eyewear group EssilorLuxottica to A+. On the downside, S&P cut Australia's Bank of Queensland one notch to BBB+ and french fry maker Lamb Weston to BB, a step deeper into junk. S&P also cut photo agency Getty Images to D, its default grade. The company has been short of cash since its planned merger with Shutterstock collapsed in June. Outside our table, the most awaited decision was on France: on Friday Moody's kept its rating at Aa3 with a negative outlook, instead of the widely expected cut to A1. The agency made that call before last weekend's protests and this week's jump in French bond yields.

Issuer Agency Change
Albemarle Fitch BBB- → BBB
Bank of Queensland S&P A- → BBB+
Beazer Homes S&P B- → B+
Central American Bank for Economic Integration Fitch AA (new)
Clover Aviation Capital Moody's Baa3 → Baa2
Co-operative Bank Moody's Baa2 → Baa1
Co-operative Group S&P BB- → B+
Companhia Siderurgica Nacional S&P B → B-
Corporacion Financiera de Desarrollo Moody's Baa1 (new)
Dream Finders Homes S&P BB- → B+
Eagle Broadband Investments S&P B → CCC
EssilorLuxottica S&P A → A+
Formosa Plastics S&P BBB → BBB+
ForteLeasing Fitch BB → B+
Geon Performance Solutions S&P B → B-
Getty Images S&P CCC → D
Golar LNG S&P B → B+
HIME (Saur) Fitch BB+ → BB
Hovnanian Enterprises S&P B+ → B
Lamb Weston S&P BB+ → BB
Liberty Communications of Puerto Rico S&P CCC+ → CCC
Mega Broadband Investments S&P B → CCC
National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance S&P A- → A
NPC Ukrenergo Fitch RD → CCC
Opmobility S&P BB+ → BB
PCC Global S&P B+ → B
Planview S&P B- → CCC+
Raizen Fitch C → RD
South West Water Fitch BBB+ → BBB
Symplr Software S&P CCC+ → CC
Syniverse S&P D → CCC+
TSMC Moody's Aa3 → Aa2
University of Quebec at Montreal S&P BBB+ → A-
WCG Clinical S&P B- → B
Zijin Mining S&P BBB → BBB+
Zinc-Polymer S&P CCC+ → CCC-

New issues

Bond sales picked up despite the market swings. Euro investment-grade sales rose to about €16 billion, well above the €4–6 billion of each of the previous three weeks. Still, companies postponed more than $5 billion of US and European bond and loan deals this month, the most this year. Bank of America raised $8.5 billion in five parts, including a perpetual bond at 7.2%, and Kimberly-Clark sold $4.9 billion of 2- to 10-year bonds at 5.1% to 5.8%. Walmart borrowed $2.5 billion at 5.1% to 5.6%, and the World Bank (IBRD) sold $5 billion of 5-year bonds at 5.0%. Accounting firm Grant Thornton sold junk bonds for the first time, paying 10.5% on a 5-year dollar bond.

The table shows only bonds sold in small lots, with a minimum investment of 2,000 or less in the bond’s currency. Deals sold only in large blocks, or only to big US institutional investors, are left out.

Issuer Size Term Yield Risk Level
African Development Bank USD
2,5bn
3Y 4,9% Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
US00828EFQ70
Amwins Group USD
0,50bn
7Y 7,4% Very High
ISIN (CUSIP)
USU00217AG12
Bank of America USD
8,5bn
3–11Y, PERP 5,4–7,2%; FLOAT, +74bp Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
US06051GNE51…US06055HAN35
Bank of New York Mellon USD
1,2bn
PERP 7,1% Medium
ISIN (CUSIP)
US064058AZ30
Bayerische Landesbank EUR
0,50bn
4Y 3,6% Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
DE000BYL0R59
Citadel USD
0,75bn
5–7Y 6,3–6,7% Medium
ISIN (CUSIP)
US17288XAF15…US17288XAE40
Deutsche Pfandbriefbank EUR
0,50bn
3Y 3,8% Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
DE000A3827F9
European Investment Bank GBP
0,50bn
6Y 5,1% Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
EU000A4E1WF6
Glencore Funding USD
2,0bn
3–10Y 5,5–6,3% Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
USU37818CC01…USU37818CE66
Grant Thornton Advisors USD
1,7bn
5Y 10,5% High
ISIN (CUSIP)
USU41365AA20
Inter-American Investment Corp USD
0,50bn
3Y FLOAT, +32bp Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
US45825JAB26
Kimberly-Clark USD
4,9bn
2–10Y 5,1–5,8% Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
USU49436AF23…USU49436AK18
Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank USD
0,33bn
6Y 5,1% Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
XS3276317990
National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance USD
1,2bn
2–5Y 5,3–5,6% Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
US63743HGJ59…US63743HGL06
Norddeutsche Landesbank (NORD/LB) EUR
0,75bn
6Y 4,2% Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
DE000NLB6TG1
PLS Group USD
0,70bn
6Y 8,0% High
ISIN (CUSIP)
USQ7539CAB65
PNC Financial Services USD
1,5bn
3Y 5,5%; FLOAT Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
US693475CP80
Queensland Treasury Corp USD
2,0bn
10Y 5,5% Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
US74830XCM83
Radpar Escrow Issuer USD
0,48bn
6Y 10,0% Very High
ISIN (CUSIP)
USU7504EAA02
Sparkasse Hannover EUR
0,50bn
7Y 3,8% Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
DE000A5GS7V3
State of Berlin EUR
1,0bn
5Y 3,6% Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
DE000A5H3DL7
State of Hesse EUR
0,50bn
2Y 3,4% Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
DE000A1RQFJ6
Walmart USD
2,5bn
3–10Y 5,1–5,6% Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
US931142GE78…US931142GC13
Workday USD
2,5bn
3–10Y 5,7–6,6% Medium
ISIN (CUSIP)
US98138HAK77…US98138HAN17
World Bank (IBRD) USD
5,0bn
5Y 5,0% Very Low
ISIN (CUSIP)
US459058ME09
This article does not constitute investment advice or personal recommendation. Investments in securities and other financial instruments always involve the risk of loss of your capital. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Bondfish does not recommend using the data and information provided as the only basis for making any investment decision. You should not make any investment decisions without first conducting your own research and considering your own financial situation.