Veteran Ulmer targets array of private credit for new firm
Andrew Ulmer, who led the structured finance expansion at Brevan Howard, has resurfaced with his own asset management company, 1543 Capital, according to documents seen by Creditflux.

Fair Oaks launches new fund targeting senior CLO paper
Fair Oaks Capital has launched a Ucits fund targeting triple and double A CLOs, according to market sources

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

Europe and US diverge on covenant lite structures
Direct lending is syphoning away traditional loan supply

Carlyle targets upper mid-market credit for new $3.1 billion fund
Carlyle Group has raised $3.1 billion for the first fund in its credit opportunities series.

CVC closes $1.4 bilion special situations fund
CVC Credit Partners has held a final close at $1.42 billion for its second global special situations fund, which it says took eight months to fundraise.

Highbridge refocuses on credit as it liquidates listed multi-strategy fund
Highbridge Capital Management has announced to investors in a multi-strategy fund that it is winding down the vehicle and refocusing its business exclusively towards credit

US pensions funds allocate to Lone Star and Raven credit strategies
Two US-based pension schemes have invested in funds with exposure to credit, highlighting the appetite of institutional investors towards off-the-run asset classes.

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

Bespoke gains pull CLO buyers as market tipped to hit $100bn
Synthetic bespoke issuance could catch up with the more visible CLO market this year, say structured credit specialists

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

Triple B fightback has begun, says BNP Paribas
Fallen angel risk – the possibility that a wave of triple B credits could be cut by rating agencies to sub-investment grade – should begin to decline, according to strategists at BNP Paribas

Alaska pension commits $545 million to seven credit funds
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation has earmarked $545 million to funds across the credit spectrum across Q2, according to 27 February board documentation

HPS targets $8 billion for flagship mezzanine strategy
HPS Mezzanine Partners 2019, the firm's fourth fund in its mezzanine strategy, has won $100 million from a Louisiana pension fund 

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

Golding holds €580 million final close for private debt fund
Golding Capital Partners has held a final close for its private debt fund strategy at €580 million

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

Market favours retrospective over forward-looking approach to Ibor benchmark fallbacks, says Isda
New benchmark fallbacks for derivatives contracts that reference interbank offered rates are likely to be based on the “compounded setting in arrears rate” and the “historical mean/median approach to the spread adjustment”, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association has said

Texas pension fund commits €75 million to European distressed debt
A $30.01 billion pension fund has awarded €75 million to a European distressed debt fund managed by AnaCap Financial Partners

Crestline holds $600 million final close for PE-focused financing fund
The new fund will provide financing to private equity funds post their investment period, allowing them to provide follow-on growth capital to portfolio companies or additional liquidity