Ares raises $3 billion special situations fund ahead of huge European direct lending launch
Ares Management has witnessed “accelerated fundraising” for its special situations fund, which it has closed at around $3 billion, according to the firm’s earnings calls. The firm also launched its fifth European direct lending fund this week, which Ares expects could be “the largest private comingled fund in its history”

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

If history repeats itself, the best CLO play could be to hold equities
After a futile scramble for liquidity, LyondellBasel filed for bankruptcy in the early morning hours of 6 January 2009. Bad luck for CLO managers that were holding the loan? Not at all

Frontier bankruptcy dials up pressure for 90 CLOs
Nine CLO managers hold $217 million of Frontier Communications’ debt across 90 CLOs, as the telecommunications company filed for Chapter 11 protection in the US Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York

Beneath the triple C: $31.6 billion of CLO credits feel downgrade pain
March madness took a toll on CLOs as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s downgraded 4.25% of the portfolios in the US and 1.84% in Europe to triple C or below in just one month (some of these were already triple C rated, only to fall further).

US pension delays restructuring fixed income portfolio over coronavirus concerns
Fresno County Employees’ Retirement Association has delayed plans to restructure its fixed income portfolio due to coronavirus concerns, according to board documentation

CDX HY and EM trade with fresh legs after defaulted names drop out
New series of US high yield index CDX HY and emerging market index CDX EM begin their first full day of trading today, having replaced outgoing versions on Friday amid a weakening of credit markets due to the spreading impact of the coronavirus outbreak

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

McClatchy whacks out killer headline as CDS pays 98 cents
A month ago, when US newspaper company McClatchy triggered a bankruptcy credit event, sellers of CDS protection may have consoled themselves they were only looking at paying out around 27 cents on the contracts. But yesterday’s credit event auction set the final price at just two, meaning a whopping 98 cent windfall for protection buyers

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.

European CLO managers with big bond buckets do best, finds Bank of America
European CLO managers that trade in the secondary market and hold a higher percentage of fixed rate assets are likely to outperform their peers, Bank of America finds in latest research

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

Credit traders’ kickstand: weaker mood, but primary drive strengthens
The primary market for high yield bonds is open again, after a pause around the US holiday on Monday, with issues in Europe today from the likes of SIlgan and Catalent striking a bullish tone and setting the scene for an expected flurry of deals next week. But this comes as credit generally weakens, with concerns about the spread and reappraisal of coronavirus cases causing spreads to push back from their recent tights

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

High yield pioneer Shenkman joins roster of bond-flex CLO issuers
Romark Credit Advisors, the CLO manager linked with Shenkman Capital, has joined the exclusive but growing group of bond-flex CLO managers

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

Four days left to join narrowly tailored credit event protocol
Those market participants yet to sign up to the International Swaps & Derivatives Association’s protocol on narrowly tailored credit events have until Friday to do so

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.

Deans Foods auction delivers big lunch for CDS protection buyers
Dean Foods CDS has been settled in a credit event auction at a final price of just 9.25 cents – half the 18 cents indicated by the Dallas-headquartered company’s bonds at the time the auction was called

Creditors left with sour taste as two food companies file for bankruptcy
Credit investors have been left to digest two US food company bankruptcy filings this week, with dairy producer Dean Foods triggering the first credit event to hit on-the-run series 33 of the CDX HY index, while Houlihan's Restaurants has also sought protection

Diameter circles back to CBO market with its second transaction
Diameter Capital Partners yesterday priced its second CBO, just five months after issuing its first, according to market sources