Three CLO investors win mandates from US insurer
New York State Insurance Fund has selected 11 credit managers to invest around $1 billion across corporate loans, high yield bonds and CLO tranches, according to documentation seen by Creditflux. Three  of these mandates are geared towards CLOs 

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

Financials and commodity names lead credit widening as oil slumps
Credit markets ended last week going wider and the theme continues today, as the price of oil slumps further amid growing concern about how the impact of the coronavirus outbreak will stifle demand

Credit traders' kickstand: market whipsaw throws tranche trades and index rolls into focus
Credit's relief rally was unlikely to last long, but hopes of reaching the weekend are dashed on today's sharp reversal, right as CDX HY and CDX EM roll into new series

Ohio pension injects $175 million into credit via JP Morgan and HPS
The School Employees Retirement System of Ohio has made a $175 million commitment to two strategies; high yield and direct lending

Jump-to-default risk collapses after Senate backs biggest ever US relief package
The US Senate's agreement of a record $2 trillion stimulus package is shaking jump-to-default risk from high yield corporate credit today, with some iTraxx Crossover constituents shedding over 1,000bp from the front end of their CDS curves

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 market hits new wides as government outbreak measures intensify
Credit market are making another push wider at the start of the week, after governments tightened restrictions on movement to deal with the escalating 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

Investors pull $10.9 billion out of corporate IG ETFs in one week
Outflows from loan and high yield bond exchange traded funds have exacerbated the liquidity pressure facing credit investors, sources say, as market volatility intensifies after economists slashed global forecasts

CDS index rolls to proceed on time despite record volatility and lockdowns
This Friday's move into new CDS index series will go ahead as scheduled, administrator IHS Markit has said, having sought advice on whether to postpone the roll date due to coronavirus-led market volatility

CDS index roll day threatened with delay by virus volatility
This week's scheduled move to new series of iTraxx and CDX indices has been thrown into doubt by the extent of coronavirus-led volatility, with IHS Markit consulting on whether to postpone the roll day

Credit traders’ kickstand: roll nightmares haunt CDS market as indices whiplash
It’s Friday 13^th, but CDS traders will be hoping the worst of the horror shows are behind them as they try to regather their shredded nerves in time for next week’s biannual index rolls

Curve inversion for airlines and freight as Trump travel ban sparks sell-off
Airlines, travel firms and shipping companies are among some of the credits hit hardest by US president Donald Trump’s imposition of a ban on travel from mainland Europe, a move that sent the iTraxx Crossover index back to its widest level since October 2012

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 breakdown as one-day volatility outstrips financial crisis
Credit default swap markets have surpassed the record one-day volatility of the global financial crisis, with indices surging to new wide prints as the spiralling impact of the coronavirus outbreak brings government lockdowns on travel while wreaking havoc on oil prices and supply chains

Ares hires head of ESG from Partners Group
Ares Management Corporation has appointed a head for its environmental, social and governance (ESG) practice, effective from April  

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

Tranche traders aim to navigate default risk while staying clear of coronavirus contagion
The CDS market is navigating between two sources of risk for equity and mezzanine high yield index tranches. The default of US media company McClatchy has focused idiosyncratic concerns, while the spread of the coronavirus has stoked fears of a systemic sell-off.

PE firms look to go it alone as credit units reach maturity
Private equity firms are starting to weigh up the merits of housing private debt businesses, with TPG Capital the latest to contemplate splitting with its credit business TPG Sixth Street. It follows EQT Capital, which announced a strategic review in January centred on parting ways with its credit unit.

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.

Covid-19 outbreak rattles carry traders
The coronavirus panic hitting financials markets at the end of February has been a strong driver of relative value trades, with CDS underperforming both cash bonds and equity, while financial names felt the heat more than corporate borrowers as geographical risk came into play.

BDCs tap bond market to improve funding mix
A plethora of business development companies have turned to the institutional bond market to refinance their debt.

Axiom seeks high yield sweet spot with long-short fund
Axiom Alternative Investments is set to launch a long-short fund that will identify mispricings of high yield credit arising from the prolonged compression of spreads between different rating bands.

Apollo ups stake in Athene to 35% through stock deal
Apollo Global Management is doubling its stake in Athene Holding to around 35% by exchanging $1.2 billion of common equity and buying $350 million extra of Athene stock