US plays catch up with Europe as spreads reconverge
There has been a slight softening of European credit on Tuesday, even as stocks hold onto their record highs and US credit spreads take their chance to close the gap after recent underperformance

Rising stars will fuel double B boom, says BofA
A rising star cycle is underway and adds to a bullish outlook for double B credits with company results pointing to an ‘epic V-shaped recovery’ in high yield revenues and earnings, say Bank of America credit strategists

"China can act how it wants and when it wants in curbing the ambitions of tech firms… but sell offs tend to be opportunities for new buyer
China's latest moves to rein in private enterprise with new rules for education providers have certainly intensified the regulation risk landscape - but Welshcake asks whether this forthrightness could be instructive

Triple Bs gain momentum as IG buyers pick best spots
The absolute tightness of credit spreads has led many to lament their chances of delivering strong returns in 2021, while stressing the need to move down either the quality or duration curve. But even within investment grade, European and US managers are still finding pockets of value

Publishing boost for French firm but China sours wider market
Lagardere is a notable positive outlier in another off day for the credit market, after China turmoil rocked stocks and sent spreads wider

China crackdown and Fed meeting rattle nerves
Credit spreads widened as financial markets began the week on a less certain footing amid panic stock selling in China and a retreat to treasuries ahead of the US Federal Reserve two-day monetary policy meeting

It's all relative: IG index drifts wide of 50bp as European CLO triple Bs outperform
US investment grade credit has been an underperformer in the last few weeks with CDX IG trading north of 50 basis points again. But European CLO triple Bs are looking strong while there is a stronger bid for two- to three-year paper in the US

Credit Rendezvous: And breathe...
The unanimous verdict is that credit spreads will be moving wider – they have to. But the difficulty credit fund managers face is predicting when the next sell-off comes and how sharp it will be. In the Q3 instalment of Creditflux’s Credit Rendezvous, the over-riding message from portfolio managers is that there’s little point in taking on too much risk. The report features the views of prominent credit figures including Paul Horvath (Orchard), Himani Trivedi (Nuveen), Ronnie Jaber (Onex), Graham Rainbow (Alcentra) and Michelle Russell-Dowe (Schroders). The report looks at 14 segments of the market including CLOs, direct lending, leveraged loans, distressed debt and credit derivatives.  

The View from ION Analytics: paradise blues
The reopening of economies from Covid-19 lockdowns has created distortions in financial markets that are harder to navigate than those of the original sell-off in early 2020. Even big-name economists and central bankers are confused, changing their views in recent weeks. 

Squarepoint draws big name options market maker to buy side
An experienced credit options trader has decided to join the systematic and quant strategies manager in a change of career from working on the sell side

Ashurst hires senior structured credit and derivatives lawyer
Law firm Ashurst has added a partner to its global markets practice in New York

Green QE is future, says BofA
Last week's European Central Bank strategy review confirmed that climate change policies will dictate the shape of future asset purchases, say Bank of America credit strategists

CSO pipeline strengthens following ESG breakthrough
ESG criteria and longer investment horizons are driving new business in a resurgent bespoke tranche market, say dealers. And while this is unlikely to get 2021 near to a 2019-like haul of deals by year end, hopes are high that volume is firmly back on an upwards traject

Credit spreads gap wider as growth fears rock market
Credit indices have gapped wider and stocks slumped, with government bonds making gains, amid rising concern about future economic growth prospects and the impact of central bank policy

Diversity database shines light on credit firms not stepping up
Private credit managers are significantly lagging behind their industry counterparts when it comes to hiring under-represented groups, including front office, distribution and investment committee roles, according to data from Diversity­Metrics, a new data-driven platform launched by executive search firm Jensen Partners

Fund performance: Déjà vu as April leaders dominate
CLO funds stayed in the top flight for another month as they took over the top 10 credit hedge fund return table in May, when 87% of all funds listed made positive returns

"It may be worth adding hedges of six-plus months’ duration when spreads trade this tight"
Options and tranches offer cost-effective hedges amid tight credit spreads  

"Pain is on the way: spreads are too tight, while compression and carry are done. But what if it's not?"
Welshcake reminds us that mid-cycle portfolio management is a funny old game  

Credit index tranche trading on the rise amid low dispersion
At its halfway point, 2021 is shaping up as another big year for credit index tranche trading, with new investors having entered the market and dealers projecting full-year volume could vie with 2020’s record of recent times.

Credit grind pushes back volatility bets
With recent weeks having all-but crushed volatility from the market, uncertainty about the timing of future risk triggers is leading credit options traders to spurn traditional horizons to focus on longer-dated expiries

Credit slumbers in departure lounge as airline equities take off
Credit and equity markets have been in a balancing act on Tuesday between the positive and negative implications of surging oil prices and Germany opting to relax travel restrictions

French food producer gets cold shoulder following bond issue
Picard, the French frozen foods producer, is one of the biggest movers in the European high yield market on Monday, after investors showed little warmth for its new bond issue in the secondary market

All eyes on NFP as credit seeks exit from 'no man's land'
Credit markets look to be ending wider on the week but, with focus mainly on today's US non-farm payroll numbers, the lack of movement in early trading could give way to a stronger directional play ahead of the long US weekend

Birch Grove merges with American Securities' credit business
US private equity firm American Securities has merged its opportunistic credit business, Ascribe Capital, with boutique alternative credit hedge fund Birch Grove Capital

Tranche trader leaves Apollo for sell side
BNP Paribas has filled a gap in its structured credit trading group with the hire of an index tranche market maker