Investors seek oasis as new issues dry up

Flat curves and decompression make waves below the surface
Hopes of using the summer slowdown to get to the beach may be tempered for credit relative value traders, where opportunities abound behind the uninspiring benchmark numbers of the slow market grind.

Points up front: Benefits of being unethical
Investing ethically is increasingly becoming part of a credit manager’s mandate, with environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies all the rage.

Net short language could force lenders to sell at a loss
Signs are growing that ‘net short’ provisions in bonds and loans are getting closer to hitting CDS investors, with two instances in recent weeks of the language expanding both in geographical and functional remit.

Back to basis (and skew) as relative value plays catch-up
Basis trades between bonds and CDS failed to gain traction during July as synthetic markets held ground or improved their position versus cash, but this is beginning to change, say market participants.

Fund performance: Mercury rises as does credit fund performance

Ucits at a glance: Amundi and Loomis Sayles funds register big gains in H1

Galapagos CDS auction date set
Settlement of Galapagos Holdings CDS will take place on Wednesday next week (7 August), the auction’s administrator Creditex has said

Credit plays a big part as KKR increases AUM by $6.5 billion
KKR grew its assets under management by 8% over the second quarter, according to the firm’s earnings call, which took place on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs creates sustainable finance group
Goldman Sachs has launched a sustainable finance group, to deliver sustainable growth solutions to the bank’s clients, according to documents seen by Creditflux.  

Galapagos CDS set for high pay-out with one deliverable on initial list
Galapagos Holdings could have only the bond on which it defaulted as a deliverable obligation into an auction to settle its CDS

Credit traders' kickstand: tighter and tighter we go, as outlook gets 'worse and worse'
It’s a strange world, where the president of the European Central Bank can say the economic outlook is “getting worse and worse” as credit markets surge into new territories of tightness

Dutch development bank creates ESG and impact standing committee
The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) has created a standing committee for impact and environmental, social and governance investing

Allen & Overy brings in three from Dechert to boost funds practice in Paris
Allen & Overy has announced a trio of appointments from Dechert to its Paris office

Italian pension fund looks to build its exposure to bonds
Mediafond has launched a request for proposals in which it seeks out a manager to oversee a bond portfolio

Galapagos has triggered failure-to-pay credit event, says DC
Galapagos Holdings has triggered a failure-to-pay credit event on its 7% senior notes due 2022, the Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee has ruled unanimously

GSO adds $10 billion to inflows with direct lending, structured credit and energy
Blackstone grew its credit assets under management to $139.3 billion, up 13% on a year ago, according to the firm's second quarter earnings release

Investor requirements rather than performance is driving ESG push: Creditflux survey
Only 14% of respondents to Creditflux's global credit ESG survey said performance was the main reason they were adopting envoronmental, social and governance-themed strategies

Galapagos failure-to-pay credit event posed to DC as bond grace period lapses
The Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee has accepted a request to rule on whether Galapagos Holding, a former iTraxx Crossover index constituent, has triggered a failure-to-pay credit event

Weatherford CDS auction next week could have 17 deliverables
There are 17 notes on the initial list of deliverable obligations for an auction next week to settle Weatherford International CDS, the Americas Determinations Committee has said

CDS has spillover effect on bond liquidity but could cause fire sales, finds BoE researcher
Single name CDS positioning is positive for the bonds of borrowers referenced by the contracts through a ‘liquidity spillover effect’, according to a new paper by a Bank of England research economist. But mark-to-market losses on CDS brought about by higher margining costs could lead to fire sales in the bond market, the paper adds.

Calpers misses returns target despite fixed income outperformance
California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) has missed its annual investment target despite strong performance from its fixed income portfolio, which was its top performer  

Credit traders’ kickstand: curve flatteners and skew trades gain ground
Grinding tighter is the order of the day in credit markets – and indeed looks likely to be the order for much of next week, with an absence of obvious events and catalysts to dictate otherwise. But the strength of the rally in CDS indices has left ‘catch up’ opportunities for relative value traders in curve, basis and even skew based strategies, say market participants

Deutsche Bank AT1s stage uneven recovery as financials lag broader rally
The prompt secondary market backlash to Deutsche Bank’s plans for a major haul of its investment banking business has abated, with AT1 bonds experiencing a revival and outperforming equity. But while there has been little contagion to the rest of the AT1 space, financials are lagging the broader European credit rally

EIB and Amundi form green partnership for high yield, private debt and securitisations
Amundi and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have teamed-up to launch Green Credit Continuum (Greco) programme with the aim of raising €1 billion over the next three years for green credit initiatives