IHS Markit mulls CDX EM growth and iTraxx ESG screen
Increasing the portfolio size of CDX EM and consulting on an ethically-screened version of iTraxx Europe are among the projects index administrator IHS Markit has been working on ahead of the 20 March roll.

Covid-19 outbreak rattles carry traders
The coronavirus panic hitting financials markets at the end of February has been a strong driver of relative value trades, with CDS underperforming both cash bonds and equity, while financial names felt the heat more than corporate borrowers as geographical risk came into play.

Huge CDS gap yawns between US and Europe, despite Fed intervention
Having crossed paths in a rare moment of compression on Monday, iTraxx Europe and its US counterpart CDX IG have since undergone one of their biggest moments of dislocation since the global financial crisis, as an emergency rate cut by the Federal Reserve failed to comfort investors about the impact of the coronavirus on the US economy

Europe rallies hard after CDX IG closes tighter for first time since June
Volatility in credit remains heightened due to the coronavirus outbreak, but movement has become two-way, with European CDS indices surging tighter today after US index CDX IG ended yesterday’s session tighter than iTraxx Europe for the first time in nine months

CDS takes brunt of coronavirus panic sell-off
European credit derivatives are among the hardest hit assets today amid a broad sell-off, as the fast spread of the coronavirus into Italy, Korea and Iran has brought a reappraisal of the impact it could have on financial markets

Lord Abbett preps floating rate interval fund with monthly share repurchase
Lord Abbett Enhanced Floating Rate Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in floating rate products including senior secured or unsecured loans, second lien debt and floating rate structured credit including CLOs

Axa terminates $14 billion fixed income mandate with AB as it takes assets in-house
Axa has terminated a $14 billion taxable-fixed income investment mandate with AB

Credit Rendezvous: the outlook in 2020 across a dozen segments of the credit market
Welcome to the Credit Rendezvous, the first instalment of a regular feature published by Creditflux that tracks credit market dynamics in a dozen segments from investment grade, liquid loans, CLOs and CSOs all the way through to distressed debt. We view this as the meeting point for credit specialists across strategies to share their perspectives

Schroders scheme allocates £800 million to credit and liability investments
The Schroders Retirement Benefits Scheme has invested £800 million of its defined benefit assets to the organisation’s cash flow driven investing building blocks  

Correlation rise stokes mezz rally but adds to CSO woes
Below the calm surface of the credit market, correlation has been churning and creating dislocations rich with reward for index tranche traders but complicating bespoke issuance, say sources.

BTIG hires strategist to cover US and European financials
Nandana Shenoy has joined BTIG in New York to work as a strategist covering US and European financials, according to an announcement by the brokerage

Italian financials put Europe's best foot forward as US outperforms
Financial credits are once again leading the way as the market continues this week’s sharp return rally

Credit traders' kickstand: full reversal for Crossover as coronavirus spreads
European high yield CDS index iTraxx Crossver is ending the week back at around 230bp, in effect undoing all its improvement since the start of December

Skew trading discord as single name CDS snub index rally
The credit market’s reappraisal of risk today, following from Monday’s widening on coronavirus fears, comes with a marked dislocation between the performance of CDS indices and their underlying constituents

European financials outperform corporates as coronavirus spreads
Financial CDS is outperforming corporate credit today, and Europe outperforming the US, as the market jumps wider on rising alarm at the spread of China’s novel coronavirus

Portfolio managers wary of US default rates, IACPM survey reveals
Portfolio managers are more pessimistic about North American corporate defaults in the next 12 months than other global regions, according to the latest survey by the International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers

Pimco launches listed multi-sector global credit fund
Known as Pimco Tactical Income Fund, the fund will invest in a range of global credit strategies and will list on the New York Stock Exchange

Credit traders’ kickstand: primary market flood gives basis for relative value
A deluge of investment grade bond supply in the first two weeks of the year has weighed on the spread basis between the cash market and CDS, leaving opportunities for traders who believe this dislocation should correct over the coming weeks

Credit traders' kickstand: convergence trades rewarded as financials outperform
Compression is the watchword in credit at the start of the year, with the market’s navigation of post-crisis tight prints bringing an outperformance of financial names over corporate borrowers and US over European indices

This is not just wider: M&S stands apart as CDS picks new tights
As credit spreads head back into post-crisis record tight territory amid a softening of tone between the US and Iran, retailer Marks & Spencer is bucking the rally having issued a profit warning today

Oil supply concerns grease CDS relative value trade
With credit spreads having begun 2020 circling post-crisis tight prints, there is not much room across the market for improvement and plenty of susceptibility to jitters. But at least one CDS index shows scope to narrow further and could form part of a relative value trade

Rude awakening for credit as US airstrike sends global shockwaves
It only took a day for the positive mood greeting financial markets in 2020 to turn nervous, with credit and equities faltering in early trading today after the US killed a top Iranian military official

Credit traders enter 2020 a world away from 2019's opening blues
CDS markets are showing what a difference a year makes, with indices beginning 2020 at post-crisis record or near record tights. And concerns such as Brexit or US-China (and lately UK-China) tensions are doing little to dampen the mood in today's buoyant trading session

Deep dive trade is on, but single name risks still abound
High yield CDS is reversing its previous underperformance versus investment grade, reflecting an investor shift down the quality spectrum in cash bonds.

MSCI makes ESG ratings public for over 2,800 companies
MSCI Research has made ESG ratings of over 2,800 companies publicly available, according to an announcement by the firm, hoping to encourage open discussion between investors and companies and drive greater transparency