Equity issuance lowest in five years - papers

The amount raised by companies from equity capital markets during the first half of the year was the lowest in five years.

Global equity markets issuance has reached $309bn so far this year, marking the slowest start since 2005, as sovereign debt fears soured investor confidence, the Financial Times reports. Issuance during the second quarter was down 48 per cent from the same period last year, reaching just $139bn, according to Thomson Reuters. US companies were the most active, accounting for nearly a quarter of issuance, followed by Chinese companies. "Expectation levels were very high and with a difficult initial market backdrop there were some over-ambitious transactions falling through," said Hen...