High yield has primary bonds more than Georgia on mind in third day of underperformance
European high yield credit is on a run of underperformance as the first signs of primary market bond issuance appear, with spreads widening for a third day straight against improvement in other asset classes

Disconnect as credit sells off as stocks and oil strengthen
Credit is a big underperformer today versus stocks, with the sell off that began yesterday afternoon starkly at odds with the positive tone with which the week began

Financials lead as credit opens 2021 with optimism
Financial credits, and particularly banks, are among the big movers today with the market having opened 2021 in buoyant mood following agreements on a Brexit deal and US stimulus package

Sharp reversal for banks, travel and commodity firms as EU shuts borders
About a month's worth of improvement in high yield credit spreads - and nearly two months in investment grade - has been wiped out today, with European countries banning flights from the UK and Brexit talks missing a key deadline

Virus-impacted sectors may suffer greater distress in Europe than in the US
Investors may take different paths to capture positive convexity in US and European credit markets in 2021

Fund performance: CLOs look to continue recovery with end of the year in sight
CLO funds claim the majority of positions in our top 10

Ucits at a glance: Year-to-date returns head for double figures
Ucits funds generally performed well in October as 75% achieved positive returns

Credit funds at a glance (January 2021)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Credit hedge funds (January 2021)
Monthly credit hedge fund tables

Signs of new dawn as tranche volumes smash past $250bn
Last year, people formed fresh habits as they adapted to the coronavirus pandemic. Similarly, in credit, a breakthrough year for the CDS tranche market is leading participants to believe that elevated tranche volumes are here to stay

Convexity pushes high yield bond basis to the forefront
Compression had become the watchword of the market as Creditflux went to press, providing justification for high yield versus investment grade macro plays, wide-end long positioning and selective tight-end shorts. But the more important driver, say some relative value investors, was convexity

Zombies demand brain work from tranche traders
Outperformance of junior tranches and underperformance of senior was the big theme in CDS index tranches going into December. But the picture began to change as Creditflux went to press

Little room to move in IG’s vice-like grip
The absolute tightness of credit has left investment grade specialists a tough challenge to find value in the coming year, with neither scope for spread improvement nor encouragement to go short

Speculative protection buying censures managements that seek only to enhance their own wealth
The Catholic church misses the mark when referring to CDS as ‘finance of chance’

Cessation of activity mid-December is an opportunity to switch off… and let the mind wander
Welshcake is grateful for a lull in credit markets. The downtime has inspired him to dream up a CLO play

Europcar CDS auction date set
The Emea Determinations Committee has set a date in January to settle CDS referencing Europcar Mobility Group

It's all relative: Euro CLO mezz rallies to follow month-long IG/HY compression
European credit suffered this week with Brexit talks between the UK and the EU dragging on and both sides conceding that a trade deal is unlikely to be reached by Sunday’s deadline. But European CLO tranches have held up reasonably well with mezzanine spreads tightening by almost 13% in December

Credit sell off gathers pace ahead of Brexit crunch day
With both sides in the EU-UK negotiations conceding that trade talks are most likely to conclude on Sunday without an agreement, credit is again a big underperformer today as more longs cut and run while hedging picks up

Big push wider in high yield as traders cut their longs
Europe's iTraxx Crossover CDS index has given up a big part of its recent rally today, underperforming other indices amid signs traders are closing up books early for the end of the year

BlueCrest settles SEC charges of favouring internal fund over client capital
BlueCrest Capital Management has agreed to pay $170 million to settle charges related to a fund that managed internal capital

Europcar triggers first credit event in Crossover series 34
Europcar Mobility Group has triggered a failure to pay credit event, the Emea Determinations Committee has ruled

Index sell off hits at start of busy week for primary
Credit is stumbling into the week, with a widening of index spreads that noticeably underperforms stock markets

No auction needed for Zambia CDS, says DC
Investors will have to physically settle Republic of Zambia CDS as there are not enough contracts outstanding to merit a credit event auction, the Emea Determinations Committee has ruled

Europe leads corporate credit rally, but US outperforms in CLOs
iTraxx Crossover has been the CDS market's outperformer this week, tightening over 30 basis points, or 11.4%, to trade at 235bp today. But in the CLO market, US deals have come out on top thanks to a BlackRock CLO that priced its double Bs at some of the tightest levels this year

ECB stimulus hopes bolster high yield outperformance
Spread compression has picked up again, with European high yield taking the lead as expectations mount for another round of European Central Bank stimulus at its meeting next week