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Daily Update — February 17, 2026

Sustainable Bonds in 2026; Box Office Outlook; and Fintech Private Equity Investment

Today is Tuesday, February 17, 2026, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.

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Energy Transition & Sustainability

Sustainability Insights: Sustainable Bonds Global Outlook 2026: Consolidation, Not Expansion

 

Outstanding debt in the global sustainable bond market is expected to reach a record of about $5.5 trillion in 2026, despite issuance dropping 19% year over year to $866 billion in 2025 and forecasts suggesting similar levels for 2026. The broader bond market grew nearly 11% year over year in 2025 to over $10 trillion in total issuance, highlighting the increasing divergence of the sustainable and conventional bond markets and introducing greater uncertainty for sustainable bond forecasts.

 

The decline in sustainable bond issuance in 2025 reflected a reduced focus on sustainability among issuers and investors. Throughout the year, anticipated growth drivers such as a rebound in sustainability-linked bonds and increased issuance from China did not materialize. S&P Global Ratings expects sustainable bond issuance to stabilize as the market matures, with enhanced transparency and reporting driven by new standards and sublabels, and a continued increase in national sustainable taxonomies. The increased scrutiny could result in more sustainable debt financing projects with robust safeguards and clear environmental and social benefits.

Technology & Innovation

Listen: 2026 box office outlook: Streaming-theatrical competition intensifying

 

The US box office landscape is undergoing significant changes. While superhero movies dominated the pre-pandemic film calendar, today's box office features a broader mix.

 

This episode of the "MediaTalk" podcast features discussions on shifting expectations for theatrical release windows, the role that theaters play for audiences and filmmakers, and how studios are adapting their release and marketing strategies in a streaming-focused world. Meanwhile, Netflix’s attempts to acquire Warner Bros. and the shifting stance on theatrical windows highlight how film distribution strategies are evolving.

Private Markets

Private equity investment in fintech up 44% in 2025

 

Global private equity and venture capital investments in the fintech sector surged 43.7% year over year to $18.54 billion in 2025, despite a 34.2% decline in deal volume, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. The convergence of infrastructure and AI drove this growth, supporting premium valuations for fintech companies, especially those providing intelligent analytics for payments orchestration, cross-border settlement, fraud prevention and identity verification.

 

Investors are increasingly favoring business-to-business fintech companies focused on mission-critical infrastructure platforms that integrate financial rails with data intelligence. According to Han Ming Ho, lead of the Asia-Pacific investment funds practice at law firm Reed Smith, regulatory and compliance tools embedded in fintech solutions are particularly attractive to investors.

In case you missed it

  • US real estate investment trusts Postal Realty Trust, Modiv Industrial and STAG Industrial, along with Canada’s  First Capital REIT, announced dividend increases in January.
  • East Asian refiners anticipate increased shipments of Canadian and Latin American heavy crude in 2026 as suppliers from the Americas redirect cargoes to Asia amid declining demand from US Gulf Coast refineries.
  • Vietnam exported 3.66 million metric tons of clinker and cement in January, up 67.6% year over year but down 2.8% month over month, with the Philippines remaining the largest destination, according to data from Vietnam Customs.

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