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

Eight bidders line up for Lebanon CDS auction as Morgan Stanley joins
Tomorrow's auction to settle Lebanon sovereign CDS will have eight participating bidders, after the Determinations Committee voted to add Morgan Stanley to the list

Market sell-off gathers pace as oil rout spills over into credit
Credit spreads are pushing wider across the board today, along with slumping stocks, after a crash in oil prices took WTI futures below zero for the first time

Frontier CDS auction to follow Lebanon and Whiting Petroleum
An auction to settle CDS referencing Frontier Communications will take place next month

Fortunes diverge for widest retailers as Crossover passes 500bp
CDS referencing Hema and Matalan, two of the riskiest constituents of iTraxx Crossover, have moved sharply in different directions amid a broad sell-off of Europe credit that takes the index back above 500bp

Credit Rendezvous: recovery begins, but is it U, V or even W?
Investing in credit is not as easy as ABC. The coronavirus crisis has crushed valuations and although most assets will eventually pull to par, no one is sure how the recovery will pan out

Extreme gap opens for basis traders as relief packages cause distortion
Evidence abounds for how government and central bank interventions in the coronavirus crisis are distorting credit markets, but one clear signal is the flip-around of the basis between corporate bonds and CDS in recent days

Trouble brews for hard-hit credits despite improving optimism
Deutsche Lufthansa, Hema and Matalan are among credits pushing wider against the grain today as the European market tightens back within its recent narrower range

Virginia pension allocates $850 million to credit in Q1
Virginia Retirement System has allocated $850 million to three credit strategies in the first quarter of the year, according to an update at its 15 April investment committee meeting

Matalan default risk jumps as market mood dampens
UK retailer Matalan is a big decliner today in bonds and CDS, as positive sentiment ebbs from the credit market after the recent strong rally

Credit pulled in different directions as coronavirus relief opens political divisions
A cautious tone surrounds the return of European credit trading after the long weekend - and the Fed-package furore that ended last week. Today's lack of European credit direction comes despite big rallies in Asia, better stock markets and an EU agreement on Friday for €500 billion in stimulus measures

Good Thursday for credit, as Europe gains gusto from US resurrection
The Easter revival has come early for credit, with three straight days of global improvement and iTraxx Crossover today rallying again into the long weekend at its tightest print for a month

Beneath the triple C: $31.6 billion of CLO credits feel downgrade pain
March madness took a toll on CLOs as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s downgraded 4.25% of the portfolios in the US and 1.84% in Europe to triple C or below in just one month (some of these were already triple C rated, only to fall further).

Coronavirus volatility drives CDS clearing surge at LCH
CDS volume at LCH, the central clearing house of the London Stock Exchange, blew previous records out of the water in this year's first quarter, underscoring how the asset class served as a leading signal in the onset of the coronavirus pandemic

Axiom bets on 2002-style credit recovery with crossover fund launch
Axiom Alternative Investments is readying to launch a fund aimed at generating returns from the dislocation and revival of European and US credit as the coronavirus pandemic develops

Europe/US credit gap extends as coronavirus curves part ways
The gap between European and US credit performance is widening as hopes rise in Europe the spread of the coronavirus could be slowing even as its impact extends in the US

Credit event hits new CDX HY as Crossover name's default risk surges
Whiting Petroleum has triggered a bankruptcy credit event, the Americas Determinations Committee has ruled, making it the first constituent default in newly on-the-run series 34 of the CDX HY index

Investors need to ask: can my asset manager survive the crisis?

US/Europe CDS relative value in play as index gaps widen
A growing differential is opening this week between European and US credit derivative indices, with stark warnings yesterday on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic prompting a big sell-off in financial markets

Credit funds at a glance

A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

Ucits at a glance: Long-short approach lifts Pictet to the top

Fund perfomance: Slowdown for some as pandemic takes hold

Batleon expands credit team with PM hire
Asset manager Bantleon has hired a credit portfolio manager and desk analyst, as the organisation looks to strengthen its bond portfolio management team

Financials lag as credit rallies on Chinese manufacturing pick up
Credit market improvement has continued this morning on signs of Chinese economic recovery, after the rally in spreads resumed yesterday afternoon in Europe and throughout most of the US session

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