DC sets Neiman Marcus CDS auction date
A credit event auction to settle Neiman Marcus CDS will be the fifth taking place this month

Frontier CDS to be settled today with RBC joining bidders
Frontier Communications CDS will be settled today in a credit event auction, with 10 dealers participating

Morgan Stanley joins bidders for Frontier CDS auction
Morgan Stanley has been added to the list of participating bidders for a credit event auction this week to settle Frontier Communications CDS

CLOs on lookout as Neiman recovery signals slump and DC confirms credit event
Five-year CDS referencing Neiman Marcus widened by four points to 95.25 points up front, according to IHS Markit, as the Americas Determinations Committee confirmed the US retailer has triggered a bankruptcy credit event

Two managers beat 70 for £900 million emerging market bond mandate
LGPS Central has selected two external managers for its £900 million Global Active Emerging Market Bond Fund

US retailer bankruptcy spells hit for CLOs and CDX HY tranches
US retailer Neiman Marcus's filing for chapter 11 protection opens the prospect of a fourth credit event in the CDX HY index and a sixth for on-the-run HY tranches, as well as a hit for CLOs

Sculptor doubles global credit exposure in master fund amid dislocation
Sculptor Capital Management has doubled its global credit exposure in its Master Fund during the covid-19 volatility, according to the firm’s Q1 earnings call

University of Kentucky awards $40 million to two fixed income managers
University of Kentucky awarded $40 million to two fixed income managers at its 6 April board meeting

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%

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”

On-site due diligence rules pose fundraising challenge
Stipulations in some fund limited partner bylaws dictating strict due diligence could pose a challenge for asset managers, sources say

CDX HY and tranches hit as Whiting protection buyers win big pay-out
Whiting Petroleum CDS have settled at a final price of just seven cents, meaning a 93 cents pay-out to buyers of protection on the Denver headquartered exploration firm

Credit finely poised despite German affront to ECB bond buying programme
Credit markets have hit a moment of near equilibrium, with little change in most spreads, as the market seeks firmer answers to questions lockdown easing, earnings, oil supply/demand and political stand-offs

Whiting CDS heads to auction, with Morgan Stanley joining bidders
The credit event auction to determine Whiting Petroleum CDS takes place today, with Morgan Stanley added to participating bidders and the pay-out to protection buyers expected to be as much as 90 cents in the dollar 

Frontier CDS auction final list points to 75 cent pay-out
An auction next week to settle Frontier Communications CDS will have 20 deliverable obligations, according to a final list published by the Americas Determinations Committee. The cheapest of these suggest a payout on CDS of around 74.5 cents

US-Europe relative value gap closes as market sell-off resumes
Credit markets are heading wider into the weekend, with European underperformance closing a relative value gap that had opened with the US last Friday. The moves accompany detoriation in equity markets, stoked by the threat of a renewed US-China tariff war, pressured bank results, airline job cuts and poor UK economic numbers

Mood lifts on stressed credits as European high yield leads rally
Some of the widest trading companies in European credit made a sharp move tighter on hopes of government support extending into high yield, as rallying momentum picked up this morning across the market before a US-led reversal

Diamond set to be fourth CDS auction in May
An auction to settle CDS referencing Diamond Offshore Drilling will take place on 22 May, the Americas DC has said, adding to auctions earlier in the month for Whiting Petroleum, Frontier Communications and Ecuador

Selecta and Southwest battered as market trades flat as a pancake
Single name credit movements are taking focus as market volatility abates, with Selecta Group and Southwest Airlines earnings putting them among the biggest wideners

HY tranche traders face another cut as Diamond hits the rough
US high yield index CDX HY has suffered its third constituent credit event in a month, after Diamond Offshore Drilling filed for chapter 11 protection in the Southern District of Texas. This is also the fifth default to hit on-the-run CDX HY tranches

Airlines and banks lead way as credit rallies on aid measures
Airlines are getting the best of a positive start to the week, with hopes of financial assistance growing for European carriers and spreads generally pushing tighter after the Bank of Japan unveiled new stimulus measures

Credit keeps its own rhythm amid oil crash and EU clash
As another week of worry and disappointment ends, the most optimistic thing that can be said for credit is the new peak spreads are lower than those that went before - suggesting a more manageable level of volatility is starting to characterise the market

SEC proposes new fund valuation framework
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a new framework for funds to determine fair value for assets for which market quotations are not readily available, which it says will "improve valuation practices and thereby protecting investors and improving market efficiency, integrity and fairness"

US/Europe relative value in play as oil prices stabilise
Tightening European credit indices today have added to the relative value trading opportunity with US counterparts ahead of that market's open

Whiting CDS auction delayed as bonds slump to single digits
The Determinations Committee has voted to postpone by a week an auction to settle CDS referencing Denver headquartered exploration firm Whiting Petroleum