The state, which renationalised EDF, is at odds with boss Luc Rémont, particularly over the way nuclear power prices are regulated, just ahead of its biggest reactor construction programme. EDF has net debt of €65bn with annual spending needs of €25bn per year, up from €16bn-€17bn in the past, and which EDF does not want to finance with more loans.

Long-term bonds sold during pandemic hit hard as rates soar. They have the highest price sensitivity to changes in interest rates. A 30-year US Treasury bond sank below $0.50 on Monday. Among investors are ETFs, pension funds and insurance companies. Of course, a slide in interest rates would cause their prices to rise and turn these bonds into winners.

Trillion-dollar green finance targets of leading investment banks are driving a boom in “sustainable” debt. The FCA in the UK warned banks over “greenwashing”. Bank of America structured $500mn of “blue” bonds for the state of Gabon, but the bank said it could not guarantee that the description complied with sustainable investing standards.

US corporate bond maturities fall to the lowest in a decade. Investment-grade yields are at 6% and near-term bonds yield more than longer-dated bonds. Companies hope that rates will have fallen when they need to refinance. Some investors prefer high yields of shorter-term debt, while long-term investors such as pension funds prefer to lock-in higher rates.

Prices of PV modules have dropped by more than a quarter since the beginning of the year, according to the industry trade group SolarPower. This is creating concrete risks for companies to go into insolvency as their significant stock will need to be devalued. It calls on the European Commission to buy up European companies' solar module stockpiles.

The UK pension funds and insurance companies have £5tn in long-term assets, but they have no appetite for long-term investment in productive capital. Millions of people in the UK will retire with an inadequate pension. Compared to other countries, the 8,200 UK pension funds are more numerous, have higher costs and a narrower asset allocation.

Equivalent to around 5% of Belgian bank deposits. The bond sale was designed to compete with bank deposits to force banks to raise interest rates. More than 600,000 Belgians signed up for the one-year notes which earns 3.3%, while one-year term deposits earn 3.13% on average. This may influence the financial stability of some banks.

London Stock Exchange will offer trading of traditional financial assets on the blockchain. LSE stressed that it is not building anything around crypto-assets. It is using digital technology to make the processes of issuance, trading, reconciliation and settlement that are slicker, smoother, cheaper and more transparent, initially for the private markets.

The last US-owned enrichment plant closed in 2013. Rosatom is the only company that does everything in-house, from ore extraction to fuel enrichment. Its main competitors are European companies Orano and Urenco. Most vulnerable are small modular reactors that rely on uranium enriched to higher levels. Rosatom supplies all of such fuel to the US.

Money-market fund assets climbed to an all-time high of USD 5.57 trillion. Reasons: the economic outlook and Federal Reserve's decision to raise its interest rate to 5.5%, the highest in 22 years. Money funds have been quicker to pass on the benefits to investors than banks. Investors can earn more than 5% on risk-free assets like Treasury bills.

Compared to the US, European banks face less competition for the €9 trillion of consumer deposits. They offer 2% on 1-year deposits. Money-market funds invest in short-term debt instruments, offer liquidity and an average 3.4% yield, but manage only €1.5 trillion, almost all of it institutional money. In the US, a third of the $5.5 trillion comes from retail customers.

Wind turbine maker Vestas warned of supply chain issues and a slowdown in approvals for new wind power projects as it returned to a quarterly loss. It increased its price for onshore and offshore turbines to €1.04mn per MW from €0.97mn last year. Orders for its turbines rose by 8% in MW. Its warranty costs were up 39% and amounted to 4.5% of revenue.