Credit fundraising: distressed keeps in favour but CLO ETFs emerge
Five months into global lockdown and distressed debt funds are still proving popular, but several managers have found success pitching other types of credit strategies

Sharp moves for single name bonds and CDS, as indices open with caution
Credit has begun the week looking for direction with European CDS indices slightly wider, US counterparts edging tighter, and high yield bonds making sharper moves in either direction

Credit Rendezvous: record fiscal stimulus provides pick-me-up
Credit markets had a mini bounce-back in the second quarter as central banks poured cash into the economy. But there is great uncertainty about the effects of a second wave of coronavirus. As part of our quarterly report on credit - the Credit Rendezvous - Creditflux spoke to experts across 12 segments of the credit market

LP round up: managers keep fundraising hopes high as GSO targets $7.5 billion for mezz offering
Institutional investors allocated $1.6 billion into credit this week, according to documents seen by Creditflux

Lufthansa climbs as shareholder airs bailout grievances
Deutsche Lufthansa is among today's biggest underperformers in credit and stock markets, as a battle brews with its largest shareholder over the terms of a €9 billion government bailout for the airline

US jitters set in ahead of monthly options expiry
A gap has opened up again in the performance of European credit versus US ahead of this month's CDS options expiries, after a shakier trading session in New York yesterday

Relief rally follows relative value trading on US/Europe credit and tranches
Credit markets look set to end the week on a cautious retracement tighter, after several sessions of heavy reminders the coronavirus crisis is far from over and that sector/geographical selection remains important

There will surely be jewels in the high yield dung heap, but the risk-reward is more compelling in IG
Whatever the long-term effects of the pandemic, one thing stays the same: IG looks attractive

Fund performance: CLO tranches move up
April returns managed a partial bounce back after a tumultuous March. 82% of funds listed in the Creditflux database made positive returns, showing at least small signs of recovery after 90% of all funds listed posted negative returns in March

KKR takes covid-19 hit on flagship credit funds and lev fin
KKR took a 16% hit to returns on its alternative credit flagship funds amid the first quarter coronavirus downturn and a 13% loss on leveraged credit, taking these into negative territory for the last 12 months. The firm's private equity portfolio also slumped by 12%

Credit Rendezvous: recovery begins, but is it U, V or even W?
Investing in credit is not as easy as ABC. The coronavirus crisis has crushed valuations and although most assets will eventually pull to par, no one is sure how the recovery will pan out

Credit markets rally, but hopes rest on US stimulus vote
Credit spreads are rallying back today, along with other financial markets, as hopes rise the US congress will agree a massive fiscal stimulus package and other governments in major economies echo a "whatever it takes" line to combat the coronavirus outbreak

Credit traders' kickstand: rolling with the pain, as relative value trades come unstuck
What a difference a month - and a pandemic - make. This time in February, no-one could have imagined a global financial crisis would be unfolding, that credit performance would be a battle between a virus and some of the biggest government and central bank interventions on record, that today's iTraxx Europe and CDX index rolls would traverse unprecedented ranges, that option expiry strikes would be blown beyond recognition, or that cash and CDS differentials would be whipsawing with such violence

Credit traders' kickstand: this is not a drill
Freefall in financial markets has brought one of the credit market’s most volatile sessions on record, as coronavirus cases globally near 100,000 and the WHO has warned governments are not doing nearly enough. iTraxx Crossover one-day volatility is up with the 2008 global financial crisis and 2011 European sovereign crisis

IHS Markit mulls CDX EM growth and iTraxx ESG screen
Increasing the portfolio size of CDX EM and consulting on an ethically-screened version of iTraxx Europe are among the projects index administrator IHS Markit has been working on ahead of the 20 March roll.

CDS takes brunt of coronavirus panic sell-off
European credit derivatives are among the hardest hit assets today amid a broad sell-off, as the fast spread of the coronavirus into Italy, Korea and Iran has brought a reappraisal of the impact it could have on financial markets

Texas pension pumps $300 million into Pimco fund
Texas Municipal Retirement System has earmarked up to $300 million to a credit fund managed by Pimco, according to board documents seen by Creditflux, building on a relationship established through a predecessor fund

Credit traders' kickstand: full reversal for Crossover as coronavirus spreads
European high yield CDS index iTraxx Crossver is ending the week back at around 230bp, in effect undoing all its improvement since the start of December

European financials outperform corporates as coronavirus spreads
Financial CDS is outperforming corporate credit today, and Europe outperforming the US, as the market jumps wider on rising alarm at the spread of China’s novel coronavirus

This is not just wider: M&S stands apart as CDS picks new tights
As credit spreads head back into post-crisis record tight territory amid a softening of tone between the US and Iran, retailer Marks & Spencer is bucking the rally having issued a profit warning today

Deep dive trade is on, but single name risks still abound
High yield CDS is reversing its previous underperformance versus investment grade, reflecting an investor shift down the quality spectrum in cash bonds.

Reality bites after credit traders abandon Brexit hedges
Rediscovered faith in the ability of the UK and European Union to reach an agreement before the 31 October Brexit deadline has helped fuel a surge tighter of credit spreads, led by UK financial names. But that break with caution faces an immediate reality check today, following admissions a lot more work is needed

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

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

Credit traders’ kickstand: it’s a tough time to go short
Credit derivative indices are ending the week back at very tight levels, with a re-convergence of spreads, with little appetite to bet against presumed central bank dovishness or the upcoming CDS rolls in September