Credit spotlight - Mixed outlook for insurers
Exposure to mortgage-backed assets and European sovereigns has made insurance companies a barometer for the global economy

CVC Cordatus - Choosing wisely
It's portfolios are lumpy and packed with mezzanine and second lien. So why is European loan manager CVC Cordatus doing so well?

Credit hedge funds deliver the goods
Long-only credit funds have made stellar returns in the past 18 months, but credit hedge funds have delivered better Sharpe ratios

Apidos - Credit’s true believers
Few CLO managers can boast they have never failed an OC test. Apidos can, and it wants the world to know about its track record

Spotlight on airlines - Waiting for take off
The recession has seen 30 airlines go bust. Now the survivors are hoping that a predicted growth in passenger numbers will lift them back into profitability

Assenagon: the basis hunter
Negative basis used to be an easy trade. But now Munich-based credit manager Assenagon must hunt high and low for these elusive opportunities.

Casting doubt on steel’s recovery
Steel production is rising from last year’s lows. But demand is due to re-stocking rather than
a real turnaround in end-users’ markets – and new risks are looming.

Waiting for public funds to flow
Analysts reckon that government spending will prevent further falls in demand for construction materials – but more bad news could trigger a wave of downgrades

Credit spotlight - surviving the cuts
Revenues have been slashed but some forestry and paper companies are still standing

Insolvency - The Netherlands: swift and flexible
Dutch bankruptcy courts can work quickly and are used to cross-border cases

Viewpoint - Consolidation: part II
Stone Tower’s James Galowski believes CDO manager consolidation has only just begun

Managers on the breadline
New business has dried up, deals are in trouble and fees are being slashed. In these hard times, CLO managers face tough choices. Should they quit, expand or stick it out for the long run? Our analysis of industry fee income may help them weigh their options

Credit spotlight - Driven to destruction
Car production in the US and in Europe has plummeted –
and parts makers have been hit hard

Plug in here for cash
Food, shelter and warmth: these basics are essential for human survival. As, it seems, is television. The fact that watching football and re-runs of Friends is not seen as a luxury by most people means that cable companies are weathering the recession better than many others. Many cable operators are increasing their earnings, their credit ratings are generally stable, and some have even seen ratings upgrades.

Spotlight: Yesterday’s news
Spotlight: Yesterday’s news

Managers: Keeping off the leading edge
Managers: Keeping off the leading edge

Crunch time for CLO fees
Crunch time for CLO fees

You don’t have to get sexy anymore to generate yield
You don’t have to get sexy anymore to generate yield

Lifting the lid on CDO performance
Data on cashflow CDO performance is hard to come by – but our analysis of Creditflux par plus ratios shows some intriguing results

Structured credit outperforms as hedge fund returns diverge
There are huge variations among the returns of credit hedge funds in the same sector, but general performance trends are becoming clear

Clearing out counterparty risk
Many in the credit derivatives market argue that a central counterparty will help reduce risk – but dissenting voices are being heard

A good time to pick stocks
John Brewer is head of credit trading at Aladdin Capital and chief investment officer of Aladdin Relative Value Credit Fund. Brewer joined Aladdin’s London-based business in 2006. Two years earlier he co-founded credit investment manager Fusion Asset Management. Before Fusion, he was head of European credit trading at Bank of America.

The age of restructuring
Bespoke volumes continue to fall, with much new CSO activity said to be driven by restructuring of existing trades. But the index tranche business remains in rude health

Keeping faith with loans
The loan veterans at Invesco see light at the end of the tunnel. But they haven't seen markets quite like this

On the correlation tightrope
Long correlation strategies have been giving strong returns – but traders know that a single name default could bring them crashing down