Davidson Kempner hires ex-Barclays convertibles research head
DavidsonKempner, the investment management firm, has hired the former head of European and Asian convertibles research at Barclays to manage convertible bonds in its London office

Political risk puts December in focus as CDS investors play index volatility
Selling implied volatility has been prominent among CDS investors since last month’s iTraxx and CDX index rolls, says BNP Paribas in a research piece, with December a popular point of focus for trades

US credit managers reset option trades
US credit managers are replacing their option trades after volatility failed to materialise last month

Index tranche investors avoid margin squeeze by switching to options
Small leveraged hedge funds that have been the most active players in the index tranches are shying away from the market

Margin levels price funds out of credit options
Some hedge fund managers find that the initial margins paid to dealers for credit swaptions can be surprisingly high

CLO investors sweep into options to clean up grimy loan portfolios
CLO investors are heading to the options market in droves in order to keep their portfolios clean

Investors hold fresh talks on option trading
Credit option investors are turning to CME Group as they lobby for option trades to be cleared

European investment grade index skew hits three-year record
The skew between the iTraxx Main index and its underlying constituents reached its most negative levels in three years on Wednesday as investors rushed to sell protection on the index.

Hedgers begin to emerge in the European options market
While the consensus is still to be long volatility the iTraxx indices some hedges are appearing in options  

Option and index volumes soar as roll pushes spreads sharply tighter
Tens of billions change hands as investors roll into the new version of credit indices

Option investors unwind trades with an eye on rallying credit markets
Dealers have had a busy couple of days as credit option investors have been unwinding bullish reversal trades as a hedge against an expected upturn in credit

Volatility jumps beyond implied levels in European options market
CDS markets suffered a bout of volatility last week, but this did little to change implied volatility in Europe as swings in the major indices caught up to, and in some cases surpassed, what the market thought was likely over three months.

Credit fund managers keep their cool amid the carnage
Investors look to take advantage of sell-off in options and mispriced credits

Tide turns in financials credit as indices rally
Financial indices posted a strong rally on Wednesday, as investors seemed reassured by Deutsche Bank's bond buy-back plan and general balance sheet strength.

Investors push into options to take advantage of credit volatility
Straddles and stranglers get more attractive as options price in more shocks 

Implied volatility plummets for high yield CDX
As spreads tighten implied volatility almost halves in a month 

UK insurers find new use for credit options
Real money investors are increasingly tapping into the credit options market but are now using these instruments for a new purpose