Credit Rendezvous: heading for homes
Fund managers in structured credit, real assets and distressed are bullish on the prospects for residential housing in 2021. Elsewhere, niche royalty-based strategies are in favour and although a CLO repricing wave is expected, it may not be easy to execute resets. For more, read our 13-page quarterly report on credit. 

Credit beats fast retreat as Biden boost dissolves in sea of troubles
The improvement of financial markets following the inauguration of Joe Biden as US president on Wednesday is looking short-lived as the week comes to an end, with CDS indices once again among the poorer performers

Financials lead tightening as calm markets greet Biden inauguration
If there is any volatility around the transition on Wednesday to Joe Biden's US presidency, it looks unlikely to come from financial markets, with CDS indices among the better performing assets in an unruffled day

Italian spreads signal Conte confidence ahead of Senate vote
Italian banks are among the best performers in credit on Tuesday as hopes rise for a vote of confidence in prime minister Giuseppe Conte's government and the CDS market returns to tighter spreads

Europcar sets course for high recovery in 2021's first credit event auction
An auction to settle CDS referencing Europcar Mobility Group has generated an initial market midpoint of 73.5 cents, implying the pay-out to protection buyers could be only 26.5 cents - much lower than five-year CDS contracts had implied

Jaguar accelerates tighter as CDS indices go their own way
UK carmaker Jaguar is on a rallying run and gathering pace in CDS, despite CDS indices underperforming the more bullish tone in other assets, including bonds

LCH reports 60% growth in CDS clearing
LCH, the central clearing house of London Stock Exchange Group, has reported growth in clearing of index, option and single name CDS during 2020

Primary weighs as pain contributor in credit slump
Credit is beginning the week on uncertain footing with spreads widening on worries about covid case numbers in Europe and investors trying to size up the scale of primary market activity in the coming weeks

Full circle for credit as investors navigate stormy year-opener
Credit is ending 2021's politically tumultuous first week tighter in cash bonds and flattish in CDS spreads, but performance has noticeably lagged more emphatic improvements in stocks, commodities and the record-hitting Bitcoin

Bet on beta compression - except in sub fin CDS, say BofA strategists
Beta compression will be a dominant theme in 2021 for high yield versus investment grade CDS and bonds, financial versus non-financial credit and subordinated versus senior financial bonds, say Bank or America strategists in a research note. Short volatility positions are also attractive, they add, while cautioning sub versus senior financial CDS could buck the trend

High yield has primary bonds more than Georgia on mind in third day of underperformance
European high yield credit is on a run of underperformance as the first signs of primary market bond issuance appear, with spreads widening for a third day straight against improvement in other asset classes

Disconnect as credit sells off as stocks and oil strengthen
Credit is a big underperformer today versus stocks, with the sell off that began yesterday afternoon starkly at odds with the positive tone with which the week began

Financials lead as credit opens 2021 with optimism
Financial credits, and particularly banks, are among the big movers today with the market having opened 2021 in buoyant mood following agreements on a Brexit deal and US stimulus package

Sharp reversal for banks, travel and commodity firms as EU shuts borders
About a month's worth of improvement in high yield credit spreads - and nearly two months in investment grade - has been wiped out today, with European countries banning flights from the UK and Brexit talks missing a key deadline

Fund performance: CLOs look to continue recovery with end of the year in sight
CLO funds claim the majority of positions in our top 10

Ucits at a glance: Year-to-date returns head for double figures
Ucits funds generally performed well in October as 75% achieved positive returns

Credit funds at a glance (January 2021)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Credit hedge funds (January 2021)
Monthly credit hedge fund tables

Convexity pushes high yield bond basis to the forefront
Compression had become the watchword of the market as Creditflux went to press, providing justification for high yield versus investment grade macro plays, wide-end long positioning and selective tight-end shorts. But the more important driver, say some relative value investors, was convexity

Credit sell off gathers pace ahead of Brexit crunch day
With both sides in the EU-UK negotiations conceding that trade talks are most likely to conclude on Sunday without an agreement, credit is again a big underperformer today as more longs cut and run while hedging picks up

Big push wider in high yield as traders cut their longs
Europe's iTraxx Crossover CDS index has given up a big part of its recent rally today, underperforming other indices amid signs traders are closing up books early for the end of the year

Index sell off hits at start of busy week for primary
Credit is stumbling into the week, with a widening of index spreads that noticeably underperforms stock markets

ECB stimulus hopes bolster high yield outperformance
Spread compression has picked up again, with European high yield taking the lead as expectations mount for another round of European Central Bank stimulus at its meeting next week

Wide-end names gain ground as market hits impasse
Financial markets appear to have a hit resistance points in several asset classes today, with credit, stocks and oil prices struggling to find traction despite encouraging signals from the UK on rolling out the Pfizer/BioNTech covid vaccine

Spread compression resumes with US passing key milestones
Credit markets have resumed their crunch tighter today, with an absence of any obviously negative brakes to offset strengthening Asian industrial numbers and applications by vaccine makers for emergency approval in the US and Europe