Friday Five

Not only is an uncontested election now implausible, but it also seems unlikely to be resolved through the courts alone. We may see whether the US Constitution can cope with a direct onslaught, something many EMs are familiar with.

South Africa is at an inflection point, and failure to reform state-owned energy firm Eskom will push it further towards financial crisis.

Even with the higher deficit, we think federal government borrowings are more likely to be sourced domestically than via eurobonds.

We continue to think that Zambia’s self-imposed deadline of 14 April to agree on an IMF programme and restructuring plan is unrealistic.

The Bahamas issued a new US$600mn 2032 bond last week, priced to yield 9.25% – we think it's the highest yield on a new sovereign bond issue with this kind of tenor this year.