CDS sell-off brings profit-taking opportunity for basis trade players
Profit-taking on basis trades between CDS and cash bonds has begun, with the strong run for credit markets since the start of the year having hit a bump yesterday

Ziggo CDS protection buyers get a lift as DC votes for successor
Holders of credit default swap protection on Ziggo Bond Finance have received a boost, with the EMEA Determinations Committee ruling that contracts structured under the 2014 Isda credit derivative definitions have a successor – dispelling fears they would be orphaned.

Credit spread improvement is calm before the storm, warn strategists
European and US credit markets have begun 2019 with a more buoyant tone than they ended 2018, but strategists warn that bearish factors still outweigh and suggest the overall direction of spreads this year is likely to be wider

Muzinich poaches Neuberger Berman MD for top fund distribution role
Muzinich has hired a global head of distribution, according to an announcement today, picking up the role previously held by Joshua Hughes, who left for CIFC Asset Management in May

Cash-CDS basis set for comeback after "falling knife" mishap, predicts BNP Paribas
The beginning of 2019 should revive interest among credit investors to trade the basis between cash bonds and credit default swaps, according to BNP Paribas strategists – following what they term “falling knife” dynamics in this year’s fourth quarter

BNP Paribas Asset Management hires multi-strategy products head
BNP Paribas Asset Management has created a new position within its fixed income division

Creditex obtains CFTC swap execution facility exemption
Creditex, the electronic brokerage for corporate bonds and credit default swaps, has been granted an exemption from a requirement to register with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a swap execution facility

Credit sell-off has room to run and pricing is out of whack, says BNP Paribas
The credit market sell-off could have further to go despite recent widening and is “in the process of a late-stage business cycle unwind”, according to a strategist note seen by Creditflux

European CDS index tightens inside US even as bonds languish
Credit derivatives markets have hit a key point of trend reversal this week, with the iTraxx Europe five-year CDS index trading inside its US counterpart CDX IG for the first time since May

Ex-Citi CDO trading chief joins Jefferies as head of European fixed income
Jefferies has appointed a former Citi European credit and pre-crisis CDO trading head to lead its European fixed income business

Market rout drives US/Europe credit convergence, as Brazil leads Latin widening
Credit spreads have sharply widened globally as financial markets are being rocked by concerns for a trade war and rising US rates. An equity-led rout in the US yesterday afternoon

Axiom puts tranches at core of push into synthetic credit
Axiom Alternative Investments is set to target both index and bespoke tranches with the launch of Axiom Synthetic Credit Opportunity Fund.

Jefferies creates team and aims to build CSO business
Amid mounting buy-side interest in the synthetic CDO market, sources say that Jefferies is looking to build a US business arranging these transactions  

August: fund performance
CLO spreads jumped wider in August, but funds that invest in these assets have been able to outperform

September: credit funds at a glance
White Oak Global Advisors held a $2.1 billion final close on a new direct lending fund, while Phil Raciti's move from CVC Credit Partners to Halcyon Capital Management was one of the biggest moves in the credit industry

Brexit disruption risk for derivatives is uncomfortably high, Nicky Morgan tells ISDA conference
Brexit cast a long shadow over the International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s Europe Conference in London this week, as keynote speaker Nicky Morgan, chair of the UK’s House of Commons Select Committee, said the likelihood of a no-deal scenario is over 50% and warned about the disruption this would cause to derivative markets

BlackRock becomes latest manager to explore interval fund structure for credit
Several managers have hit the market with the interval fund structure, as investors look to invest in illiquid strategies through an illiquid fund structure

Orchard hires former UBS credit index options and tranches global head
Orchard Global Asset Management has hired an ex-UBS senior correlation trader as a portfolio manager in London

Nomura hires EMEA flow credit trading head following departures
Nomura has hired John Gousias to head its flow credit trading business in Europe, the middle east and Africa

Partner leaves Cheyne after five years at the firm
A marketing official, who has covered loan funds and synthetic credit strategies, has left Cheyne

Mediobanca hires experienced credit trader to build out loan franchise
Mediobanca has appointed an ex-Deutsche Bank senior credit trader as head of loan trading

BNP Paribas hires global credit strategy head
BNP Paribas has appointed a global head of credit strategy and desk analysts.

BNP Paribas hires experienced structured credit trader in London
BNP Paribas has hired structured credit trading specialist James Moi to its business in London  

Cheyne more than doubles assets for credit fund in five months
Cheyne Capital has more than doubled assets for Cheyne Total Return Credit Fund December 2023 – in the space of just five months

BlueBay aims to capitalise on volatility with diversified alternative credit fund
The new Icav QIAIF will invest in a range of sub-strategies including global credit alpha, global long/short, event driven credit and emerging market credit alpha