French co rattles investors on micro level as Russia overclouds macro
After a cautious opening, investors in the European credit market have resumed hedging as western leaders continue to talk up the prospect of Russia invading Ukraine and the Kremlin has dismissed hopes of a Biden-Putin summit as premature

Investors rush to hedge Russia as barrage of threats tee up nervous weekend
The prospect of a flare-up between Russia and Ukraine has left credit spreads back at their recent wide levels going into the weekend, with European investment grade credit particularly feeling the heat following 'false flag' headlines on Friday

Credit fund rout extends as storm winds buffet from all sides
Another choppy week for financial markets has extended the run of fund outflows, with investors fleeing from all parts of credit and even equity suffering a drop, with government bonds gaining traction

Scramble to cover shorts extends rally, but analysts stub out tobacco
European outperformance of US credit is picking up despite the UK posting record inflation numbers, as optimism on Ukraine combines with the wrong-footing of investors that had positioned extremely bearishly

Europe drives relief rally after Russia signals troop withdrawal
European financial market volatility has brought another reversal of relative value dynamics versus the US, with Russia/Ukraine developments extending their sway

European panic over Ukraine pushes market to new wides
European underperformance of US credit has resumed at the start of the week, with the market waking up on Monday morning to another sharp sell off. But the lengthening downturn has some believing spreads have overshot, while others insist worse is to follow

Ukrainian volatility speaks loud and clear after Russia talks fail
Ukrainian and Russian credit are ending the week with renewed volatility, as failed attempts at diplomatic talks appeared to exacerbate rather than simmer down tensions between the countries

Credit hedge funds (February 2022)
Credit hedge fund returns

Credit unprepared as Russia and Ukraine spreads go on march
Huge moves in Russian and Ukrainian credit spreads have exposed the growing mismatch between assessments of a likely conflict between the two countries, and the neglect of investors to price in its impact on broader markets

Heavy market rout takes credit back to November 2020 levels
High volatility is gripping financial markets at the end of a week that has been decisively bearish for credit spreads, as concerns about the end of central bank stimulus and warnings of a Russian invasion of Ukraine next month layer on pain for investors

Credit Rendezvous: the upside of inflation
It is clear, inflation is not transitory and central banks are acting with several interest rate hikes likely in store for the US this year. That makes loans and CLO debt tranches attractive, but there could be opportunities beyond these floating rate assets

Biden remarks add extra twist to Ukraine / Russia credit volatility
The war of words around Russia's intentions regarding Ukraine is keeping both countries' credit spreads volatile, with US president Joe Biden's latest remarks leaving room for interpretation on both the perceived threat and how Ukraine's allies are prepared to respond

Ukraine and Russia volatility steps up amid political trial and conflict fears
Ukrainian and Russian spreads are among the market's biggest movers at the start of the week, as developing tensions between the two countries ramp up another notch and former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has arrived in Kyiv to face treason charges

Credit hedge funds (January 2022)
Credit hedge fund returns

CLO funds shine amid the gloom with unmatched returns
Credit funds stumbled in October, with European high yield, emerging markets and long-short strategies the weakest performers, according to Creditflux data, as several funds in these categories suffered losses

Determinations Committee agrees to rule on first credit event question in 10 months
Credit event triggers are back on the market's list of discussion points for the first time since February, with the Determinations Committee having agreed to rule on an Asian failure to pay question

Euro bonds set to outperform US despite big fund outflows: BofA
The November credit crash has left Euro investment grade bonds wider than those in the US, a rare occurrence that sets the scene for a January rally, say Bank of America credit strategists

Reality check for credit as omicron research timeline extends
Another dose of harsh reality has sunk into financial markets on Tuesday, as investors continue to reappraise the impact of tightening travel restrictions and the timeline for pharmaceutical work to address the omicron covid-19 variant

Traders hunt for Monday bargains in Black Friday debris
The turmoil of Black Friday has given way to a counter-wise move on Monday, with financial markets latching onto scraps of hope over the weekend following the panic of a newly discovered covid-19 variant

Citadel promotes credit head to co-CIO
Citadel has promoted its global credit head to co-chief investment officer

Credit hedge funds (November 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

Energy crunch grows as differentiator for EM and western credit
Surging energy prices are adding to the inflationary picture in global economies and point to a mounting crisis that could bring sharply divergent performance for different parts of the credit market

Brookfield hires industry veteran as public securities CIO
Brookfield Asset Management has hired a long-serving credit and equity market professional as chief investment officer for its public securities group

Credit Rendezvous: Credit spins full circle
The third quarter was massive in terms of volumes with CLOs, high yield, leverage loans and private equity registering record issuance. But credit spreads were up and down as inflation fears, crackdowns in China and rising coronavirus cases became catalysts for risk-off sentiment in July and September

Sov yield surge finally weighs on IG fund flows, as credit turns corner
Investment grade credit funds have suffered their first net outflow in several months, as the uptick in rates volatility has finally weighed on appetite in this part of the credit spectrum