This is not just wider: M&S stands apart as CDS picks new tights
As credit spreads head back into post-crisis record tight territory amid a softening of tone between the US and Iran, retailer Marks & Spencer is bucking the rally having issued a profit warning today

Oil supply concerns grease CDS relative value trade
With credit spreads having begun 2020 circling post-crisis tight prints, there is not much room across the market for improvement and plenty of susceptibility to jitters. But at least one CDS index shows scope to narrow further and could form part of a relative value trade

Rude awakening for credit as US airstrike sends global shockwaves
It only took a day for the positive mood greeting financial markets in 2020 to turn nervous, with credit and equities faltering in early trading today after the US killed a top Iranian military official

Credit traders enter 2020 a world away from 2019's opening blues
CDS markets are showing what a difference a year makes, with indices beginning 2020 at post-crisis record or near record tights. And concerns such as Brexit or US-China (and lately UK-China) tensions are doing little to dampen the mood in today's buoyant trading session

Deep dive trade is on, but single name risks still abound
High yield CDS is reversing its previous underperformance versus investment grade, reflecting an investor shift down the quality spectrum in cash bonds.

Beware of "mequity" risk in direct lending, writes Barings
Barings co-head of global private finance, Ian Fowler, predicts that the adoption of lending terms associated with broadly syndicated loans into private credit will not prove beneficial in the long term

US pension fund hires fixed income manager
Howard County Retirement Plans has appointed Payden & Rygel to oversee a $40 million absolute-return fixed income portfolio, according to documents seen by Creditflux  

S&P acquires ESG rating business from RobecoSam
S&P Global has acquired an ESG ratings business from RobecoSam, according to an announcement. The acquisition includes that of SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), an evaluation tool.

Investors increasingly see ESG as fiduciary duty, State Street survey reveals
North American investors are most likely to view ESG as a fiduciary duty, while European investors are driven by regulation, performance and reputational risk, according to results from a survey conducted by State Street Global Advisors

Deadline just hours away for CDS users to sign Isda protocol
Midday New York time is the cut-off for market participants to sign up to the International Swaps & Derivatives Association’s protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events from CDS

Rising idiosyncratic risk leads to calls for high yield index tranche fix from traders
As sources of funding dry up for the weakest borrowers in the credit market, some correlation traders are calling for an overhaul of CDX NA HY index tranches to make trades on wide-end dispersion more effective.

ESG integration is part of fiduciary duty, finds UNPRI
The United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) report ‘Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century’, published late last month, concludes that ESG is a source of investment value, ending debate that using ESG criteria might violate fiduciary duties.

Corporate credit performance expected to catch up with financial borrowers as European quantitative easing begins
The return of European Central Bank quantitative easing on 30 October portends a catch up this month of corporate credit performance with other parts of the market, such as financial borrowers, say strategists.

Over 1,200 sign up to CDS protocol
Plans to improve CDS market integrity have received a boost, with the International Swaps & Derivatives Association drawing a stronger than expected response to its protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events (NTCEs).

Credit traders' kickstand: QE and dispersion sever 'haves' from 'have nots'
The underperformance of European high yield credit has picked up this week, on rising concerns about dispersion in funding access

CDS traders get second extension on narrowly tailored credit event protocol
The International Swaps & Derivatives Association has extended for a second time the deadline for market participants to adhere to a protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events from the CDS market

Traders face Monday deadline for manufactured credit event protocol
Interested parties have until Monday to sign up to a protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events from the CDS market, with the International Swaps & Derivatives Association having given extensions on the original deadline

Reality bites after credit traders abandon Brexit hedges
Rediscovered faith in the ability of the UK and European Union to reach an agreement before the 31 October Brexit deadline has helped fuel a surge tighter of credit spreads, led by UK financial names. But that break with caution faces an immediate reality check today, following admissions a lot more work is needed

Credit traders' kickstand: curves in focus as market overcomes mid-week wobble
Credit markets have had a more positive week overall than last, and that was given a couple of extra twists today by UK/European Union and US/China talks. But this masks weakness mid-week and, following a brief steepening of curves, improvement is mainly exhibited by financial sector names

Managers have leeway even after triggering key person event, finds Ropes & Gray
Almost all credit managers offer protection to investors that key employees will continue to manage the fund’s assets throughout its life, with 95% credit funds containing such "key person clauses". But that does not mean managers have their hands completely tied

Credit traders' kickstand: trade troubles threaten volatility "sooner than you think"
Most of the credit market goes into the coming week in a more nervous mood than it began this week, with hopes for the resuming US-China trade talks tempered by the US’s opening of a new front with Europe on trade

Boeing/Airbus dogfight widens spreads as WTO ruling exposes Europe's trade weaknesses
The World Trade Organisation’s go-ahead for the US to impose $7.5 billion of tariffs on imports from the EU has sent credit spreads sharply wider. And, according to latest credit research from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, it exposes Europe’s “Achilles heel”

Narrowly tailored event protocol set to go live in weeks
Investors have until 14 October to sign up to an Isda protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events (NTCEs) from the CDS market.

Roll week leaves CDS in strange places
CDS traders navigate a much-changed landscape in October, after one of the most impactful index rolls in recent times. 

Ucits at a glance
A round-up of ucits fund performance