Largarde snowballs puncture complacent calm and shocks spreads wider
Credit markets are ending the week on a big push wider, after European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde delivered the surprise that had been missing from other central bank messaging

Major fund withdrawals undermine credit momentum
Credit funds are extending their run of inflows into the end of the year, but investment grade momentum took a dent last week due to investors in one big fund pulling their money

Capex and real yields will split winners from losers in '23: BofA
Companies able to undertake capital expenditure will be the winners in 2023, while those historically most sensitive to rising real yields should inspire caution, say Bank of America strategists

Rebuke for optimism as US jobs send market bulls running for cover
Investors’ determination to maintain an optimistic outlook on US Federal Reserve policy hit a point of reckoning on Friday, with hot US jobs numbers adding weight to committee members’ message that there is still a lot more work for them to do

Powell outlook brings risk buyers out in droves, but reality check looks soon to follow
Comments by US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday on the pace of future rate hikes have prompted a sharp rally across global financial markets, including credit. But dissenting voices have already begun to point out the enthusiasm is likely overdone

Public credit markets "most attractive for 15 years" says Wamco
The US Federal Reserve is helping to create the potential for the "most attractive opportunity in public credit markets in the last 15 years", according to a research note published by Western Asset Management

Credit Suisse tests investor nerves as market preps for Fed-focused week
Credit Suisse, which has been subjected to another week of intense scrutiny, is heading into the weekend with its credit spreads extending wider, after warning on losses and undertaking a capital hike

Swiss bank looks to plug holes but investors are hun-gruyere for risk
Credit Suisse is a rare, worrisome cloud in an otherwise brightening sky this week, as Europe extends its tightening trend in credit with the US standing at ease for the Thanksgiving holiday

Outsized corporate rally puts financials RV in focus
The week is ending with resumption of credit’s recent rally after a brief pause, and Europe once again taking the lead over the US

Things are looking up... for curve steepener trades: Barclays
Investment grade credit index curves look too flat, say Barclays strategists – and that makes it a compelling time to consider steepener trades in Europe and the US

European outperformance creates index options trading mismatch: Barclays
The recent outperformance of European credit over US has shifted the value of iTraxx index options, but CDX index volatility premiums stand out for having hit a new low

Financials offer relative value opportunities after synthetic credit overshoot: BNP Paribas
A technical squeeze, driven by investor risk appetite but also short covering, has taken some parts of the synthetic credit to a point where cash bonds look to offer better relative value

Credit euphoria follows CPI, but analysts warn of comedown
Softer than expected US inflation numbers have ignited a spectacular rally in financial markets. But strategists and economists warn against the exuberance, arguing more pain is likely on the way

Up to 40% more US loan supply will hit primary market next year: Barclays
US leveraged loan supply in 2023 will outstrip this year’s tally by a good margin, according to Barclays credit strategists in New York. But it will remain below average, particularly given the increased size of the index

Soft mood music abruptly dashed as Fed and BoE rile markets
The credit market’s strong run of improvement has come to an end this week, with the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England delivering a reality check to hopes of a more dovish path forward on interest rates

Credit faces blind spot as borrowers enter higher default cycle: BNP Paribas
With short term rates outstripping nominal GDP growth, the credit cycle is entering its next and final stage – one in which corporate defaults will pick up but high quality borrowers should outperform

Credit pivots sharply as US returns to growth and ECB confirms record hiking cycle
After a wider start, credit markets reversed course Thursday having digested a strong US GDP reading and the European Central Bank lifting its base rate by 75bp – a move that confirms this as the region’s most aggressive ever hiking cycle

UK credit spreads rally for Rishi
UK credit spreads have rallied sharply on Monday with the victory of Rishi Sunak in the contest to become the country’s third prime minister of the year

It's time for bullish reversal on IG credit to play decompression: JP Morgan
Having been bearish most of the year JP Morgan has changed its view on investment grade credit to neutral, saying value has become too cheap to ignore

Credit/equity RV trades work better in selloffs than rallies: Barclays
Investors looking to exploit dislocations between high yield debt and equity would do better to short bonds following equity selloffs rather than buy bonds following equity rallies, according to Barclays credit strategists

Credit volatility leaps after US inflation bolters hawks
Credit volatility spiked on Thursday in the wake of a US inflation report that dispelled any remaining conjecture the Federal Reserve will slow its pace of interest rate hikes at the next policy meeting

Deutsche hires credit strategy head from rival bank
Deutsche Bank has hired a new head to oversee European and US credit strategy

Credit Suisse rallies hard as rest of market suffers
After a tough week for Credit Suisse, the bank’s credit spreads have ended Friday’s session on a notably better tone than most others in the European market

US jobs strength sends traders scrambling to cut Fed pivot trades
Credit spreads are ending the week on a sharp move wider, with a heavy sell off hitting financial markets in the wake of US jobs numbers that suggest any notions of a Fed pivot on rates are premature

"Ugly" eurozone inflation numbers cap off torrid week for credit
Credit spreads are heading tighter into the weekend, as investors rebalance positions against a backdrop of easing currency pressures but a challenging array of European inflation numbers and a highly charged Brazilian election month about to kick off