Boeing/Airbus dogfight widens spreads as WTO ruling exposes Europe's trade weaknesses
The World Trade Organisation’s go-ahead for the US to impose $7.5 billion of tariffs on imports from the EU has sent credit spreads sharply wider. And, according to latest credit research from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, it exposes Europe’s “Achilles heel”

Narrowly tailored event protocol set to go live in weeks
Investors have until 14 October to sign up to an Isda protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events (NTCEs) from the CDS market.

Roll week leaves CDS in strange places
CDS traders navigate a much-changed landscape in October, after one of the most impactful index rolls in recent times. 

Fund performance
A round-up of fund performance

Ucits at a glance
A round-up of ucits fund performance

Credit funds at a glance
A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

Political risk puts December in focus as CDS investors play index volatility
Selling implied volatility has been prominent among CDS investors since last month’s iTraxx and CDX index rolls, says BNP Paribas in a research piece, with December a popular point of focus for trades

Franklin Templeton reorganises long-short credit fund team
Asset manager Franklin Templeton Investments will make changes to the portfolio managers for the Franklin K2 Long Short Credit funds, effective from October

Thomas Cook looks set to fly solo as default in outgoing Crossover series 31
The Determinations Committee has accepted a request to rule on whether Thomas Cook Group has triggered a bankruptcy credit event, after the UK-based travel company filed for chapter 15 protection in New York

The Last Tranche: managed CSOs and the benefit of CLO Euribor floors [podcast]
Managed CSOs are the talk of the town in the synthetic structured credit market, while CLO investors in Europe are putting a price on how much they value CLO Euribor floors  

Credit traders' kickstand: ECB rocket boosts Europe's outperformance of US
Investment grade credit index iTraxx Europe has reopened a 5bp differential with US counterpart CDX IG, boosted by the European Central Bank’s stimulus plan

China ambitions checked in final roll lists for iTraxx and CDX indices
The index roll lists for iTraxx Europe, iTraxx ex-Japan and CDX EM, have all undergone a rethink since IHS Markit published provisional lists earlier this week, with final lists showing name changes

Draghi sends European credit to 2019 tights, as Trump demands Fed response
European investment grade credit – and particularly the financial sector – surged tighter today as European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, in the penultimate meeting of his reign, unveiled a ‘whatever it takes’ stimulus

US spreads reconverge on Europe as traders hold breath for ECB
Credit markets are finely poised ahead of today’s meeting of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt today, with some positivity around US-China tariff talks allowing US spreads to gain ground as European expectation remains tempered by German recession fears

iTraxx and CDX roll provisional lists reveal effects of index overhauls
Eagerly awaited provisional lists are out for this month’s index CDS rolls, with big changes signalled across iTraxx and CDX products

CDS data snapshot: central bank positioning and index rolls drive flows
Welcome to the inaugural run of what will become a weekly insight into credit derivatives trading. Each week, Creditflux will highlight trends and dynamics from most recently available market data. We welcome feedback on measures of the market readers would like to see here in future

US credit managers make ESG breakthrough after taking a first step via UNPRI
Incorporating a framework for investing in companies based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors is a challenge that US credit managers are accepting in growing numbers

If you can stomach volatility, CLO equity is very attractive

Credit traders' kickstand: Financials lead compression as pre-ECB and index roll bulldozers flatten spreads
Caution does not appear to be an operative word in financial markets ahead of next week’s key European Central Bank meeting, with financial names leading the way as credit spreads return to this year’s tightest levels and stocks ascend towards post-crisis peaks

Helicopter money is more productive than sponsoring the next bout of company share buybacks
The ECB is set to recommence its asset purchase programme, but what’s wrong with putting money directly into the hands of people?

Guidelines fail to assuage fears over loose reporting standards
The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute’s new hedge fund reporting guidelines come into play next year, but some say they fall short of a much-needed overhaul.

Return to quarterly rolls advocated as CSOs hit dry patch
A marked drought of synthetic bespoke activity since July largely results from caution ahead of the September CDS roll, say investors, with some suggesting a return to quarterly rolls for single name contracts should be considered.

‘Ex’ index trades take off as dispersion peaks
A gap is yawning between how the weakest constituents of CDX HY and iTraxx Crossover trade versus their broader portfolios, leading investors to find new ways to hedge and capture idiosyncratic risk.

Credit funds at a glance
A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

Fund performance
A round-up of fund performance