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

Pimco plans to outperform come rain or shine with $4.5bn all-weather fund
Pimco has become the latest manager to fashion a flexible, all weather credit fund that invests across public and private markets, geographies and capital structures. The Newport Beach-based manager is hoping to raise $3 billion for the strategy. With half a turn of leverage, it could have up to $4.5 billion to deploy.

Renault hits bump in flat markets
The future of Nissan’s relationship with Renault has been in question since last year. But the likelihood of the companies parting ways has increased since Nissan’s former chairman Carlos Ghosn, who faced charges of financial crimes, fled from Japan to Lebanon in December

Credit CIO Finch leaves GLG
Simon Finch has parted ways with Man GLG, according to market sources, ending an 18-month stay at the firm where he served as chief investment officer for credit

Date set for long-delayed Steinhoff auction, with two deliverables
An auction to settle CDS referencing Steinhoff Europe will take place on Wednesday next week – six months after the Determinations Committee ruled that the retailer had triggered a failure-to-pay credit event

Draghi sends European credit to 2019 tights, as Trump demands Fed response
European investment grade credit – and particularly the financial sector – surged tighter today as European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, in the penultimate meeting of his reign, unveiled a ‘whatever it takes’ stimulus

Steinhoff credit event auction finally in sight after restructuring concludes
A long-awaited auction to settle CDS referencing retailer Steinhoff Europe has moved a step closer, with the EMEA Determinations Committee noting the restructuring effective date has happened and the company voluntary arrangement (CVA) has been fully implemented

Credit traders' kickstand: nervous equilibrium gives way to weakness as earnings and tariffs weigh
Healthy fund inflows, European and US holidays, and a thinning primary market helped sustain credit spreads this week, but a weaker turn today shows this is a fragile equilibrium and company earnings misses are starting to be punished more severely

Mizuho appoints US and European credit trading heads in leadership shake-up
The hires include a newly created CLO role, head of credit trading, and head of special situations and illiquid trading 

High beta's time to shine in next leg of rally, says BAML
High-beta credits have yet to reward expectations they would lead the market rally in 2019, but this is about to change, according to a research note by Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Steinhoff CDS auction in limbo due to lock-up and CVA
A date to settle CDS referencing Steinhoff Europe had still to be agreed as Creditflux went to press — more than a month on from when the EMEA Determinations Committee (DC) ruled that the company had triggered a failure-to-pay credit event.

New manager Resco lands ex-credit head to found advisory board
Resco Asset Management, a London based asset manager set up last year, has appointed the first of an anticipated three advisory board members

HSBC boosts single name CDS and index trading with experienced hire
HSBC has added a former index trading head to its credit team in London

Deutsche plots single name CDS return and index push with two senior hires
Deutsche Bank has made two senior credit trading hires to its London office, with sources saying these portend a revival of its CDS market-making business

CDS sell-off brings profit-taking opportunity for basis trade players
Profit-taking on basis trades between CDS and cash bonds has begun, with the strong run for credit markets since the start of the year having hit a bump yesterday

Credit spread improvement is calm before the storm, warn strategists
European and US credit markets have begun 2019 with a more buoyant tone than they ended 2018, but strategists warn that bearish factors still outweigh and suggest the overall direction of spreads this year is likely to be wider

GSO co-founder plans new credit business
GSO Capital Partners co-founder Tripp Smith is launching his own credit management firm, according to a report by Bloomberg

Cash-CDS basis set for comeback after "falling knife" mishap, predicts BNP Paribas
The beginning of 2019 should revive interest among credit investors to trade the basis between cash bonds and credit default swaps, according to BNP Paribas strategists – following what they term “falling knife” dynamics in this year’s fourth quarter

Creditex obtains CFTC swap execution facility exemption
Creditex, the electronic brokerage for corporate bonds and credit default swaps, has been granted an exemption from a requirement to register with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a swap execution facility

Blackstone builds on multi-asset approach with fifth fund
The new vehicle will invest directly into Blackstone deals across its alternatives platform

Loan trader reunites with former ECM colleagues at Muzinich
Muzinich & Co has poached European high yield specialist Paul Suter

Rallye races towards over 50s club in CDS as Astaldi faces Crossover index ejection
Rallye, the parent company of supermarket chain Casino Guichard-Perrachon and a former fellow-constituent of credit default swap index iTraxx Crossover, has surged wider to near 50 points up front in five-year CDS trading

Mediobanca hires experienced credit trader to build out loan franchise
Mediobanca has appointed an ex-Deutsche Bank senior credit trader as head of loan trading

Neuberger's Dyal acquires minority stake in HPS
Dyal Partners, a division of Neuberger Berman, has acquired a minority equity stake in global credit manager HPS Investment Partners