It was one of the busiest issuance days

Stocks closed near flat but the technical rally in credit spreads continued unabated despite the flood of new bonds.
The primary new issue bond pipeline was en fuego with more than 20 bond deals printing across multiple maturities.
It was one of the busiest issuance days in recent memory.
Among the bond issuers there were financial corporations, Yankee (European based issuers issuing in USD) electronic companies, and mining companies.
There were two covered bond issues; one each from a Canadian bank and an Australian bank.
Secondary bond trading volumes were almost non-existent with the majority of players focused on the primary new issue pipeline.
Throughout the day Treasury bonds gave up ground as risk-on sentiment continued to reign.
In macroeconomic news, official forecasts out of China confirmed the obvious: that the Middle Kingdom's stellar growth rates are beginning to slow down.
In Russia, Vladimir Putin was re-elected to the presidency in an overwhelming victory; anyone who expected otherwise was smoking something strong.
In Europe, there were more meetings over the weekend but the song and dance continues.
In Syria, Assad's brutal assault against his own people continues; the Balkanization of the conflict is inevitable absent forceful foreign intervention.
The international community risks complicity in war crimes by staying on the sidelines.
On a more philosophical note, former White House budget director David Stockman gave a phenomenal interview recently.
Stockman talks about the inevitable day of reckoning and the "margin call" that will come due because of a proliferation of America's debt.
Much of the debt ballooned during the first bail-out of the financial industry in 2008 in the waning days of the Bush administration.
As Stockman keenly observes, the only way out of the debt morass is investment in productive endeavors and sustainable growth in the real economy.