Crossover dips below 300bp as retailers leave the basket
The removal of defaulting constituents Hema  and Matalan from iTraxx Crossover has helped take the index to its tightest prints since the start of the coronavirus sell-off

Matalan auction initial bids point to lower than expected CDS pay out
Early bidding in a credit event auction today to settle CDS referencing UK retailer Matalan indicates the final result will be higher than predicted by recent five-year quotes but roughly in line with modelled recoveries

PGIM hires for newly created ESG fixed income research role
PGIM has appointed a former Allianz official into the newly created role of head of environmental, social & governance (ESG) research for its fixed income division

Noble and Hema produce disparate pay outs for CDS
This week has brought the high and lows of CDS settlement, with Noble Corporation bestowing an ultra low high pay-out for protection buyers after Hema protection sellers suffered less of a hit than was modelled by assumed recoveries

Opportunities knock as Credit Dimensions returns in vibrant tranche market
Creditflux will showcase the cutting edge of CDS market developments next week as Credit Dimensions, our annual deep-dive into structured synthetic credit, returns in a virtual format

Pizza Express triggers failure-to-pay credit event
Pizza Express has triggered a failure-to-pay credit event, the Emea Determinations Committee has ruled

Pemberton hires Credit Suisse head of Emea high yield syndicate
European direct lender Pemberton has hired a managing director and mid-market debt portfolio manager from Credit Suisse

Europcar restructuring plans send bonds and CDS into skid
Europcar Mobility Group's bonds have plummeted and CDS referencing them have gapped wider after the French car hire firm said it will open talks with creditors about a debt restructuring

Hayfin hires former Barings official to new head of fund finance role
 The new job reflects the growing number of financings Hayfin handles, sources say

Cautious open sets credit at odds with equity
A positive open to the week for European stock markets is not reflected in cautious credit trading, with spreads generally flat to slightly wider

Pizza Express serves up credit event question after very long wait
Pizza Express has been proposed as a failure-to-pay credit event to the Emea Determinations Committee, following the UK food retailer's decision not to make interest payments on bonds

Credit spreads see-saw as US tech slump puts market in reverse
A sharp about-face in sentiment, driven in part by US tech sector weakness, has put credit markets back to more or less where they began the week - having hit new post-covid tights in between

Credit event auctions mount as European resistance breaks
Two constituent defaults in iTraxx Crossover — the first to hit the European on-the-run index in almost two years — have made 2020 the second busiest year ever for credit event auctions

Alcentra appoints DeSimone as CEO
Alcentra has appointed Johnathan DeSimone as chief executive officer following David Forbes-Nixon’s decision to step down and take an investment role at the firm

Hema and Matalan deliverable lists outline payouts for CDS
Only one bond looks to be deliverable into a credit event auction to settle Hema CDS contracts, while two notes will be deliverable into Matalan CDS contracts

Ensco CDS leap wider on credit event trigger
CDS contracts referencing Ensco International, a Houston based subsidiary of offshore driller Valaris, have shot wider after the Americas Determinations Committee ruled the company has triggered a bankruptcy credit event

HY rallies as curve steepening picks up
Credit spreads may have normalised since the March/April peaks of the coronavirus sell-off, but relative value investors are still finding a wide array of trading dislocations beneath the headline numbers

Credit hedge funds (September 2020)
Monthly credit hedge fund tables

Ucits at a glance: Five funds lift YTD returns above 5%
Five funds have managed to pull their year to date figures above 5%; Loomis Sayles (7.50%), Algebris (5.82%), Pictet (5.53%), Amundi (5.36%) and Advent (5.11%)

Credit funds at a glance (September 2020)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Fund performance: Almost a third of credit funds reach positive YTD returns
July has been a successful month for many credit funds, despite the recovery peaking in May and June

CLO funds top rankings, but still have ground to make up
CLOs may have taken a hammering in March but, for the fourth consecutive month, funds that invest in these assets dominate our ranking of the top performing credit funds

They said it: "We’re going to change the world of finance"
Big ambitions in blockchain

Past returns: Trying a different route to Balliol
Five years ago in Creditflux we reported on Numen Capital absorbing credit hedge fund manager Balliol Capital

Hema and Matalan auctions set as DC ponders Ensco credit event
Dates have been set for credit event auctions to settle two constituent defaults in iTraxx Crossover — the first to hit the European on-the-run index in almost two years