Dealers gear up to settle Sears CDS and rule on Ziggo successor
The long wait to settle the final price of Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp credit default swaps will end today with a credit event auction, while investors could also learn whether there is successor to contracts referencing deregistered Ziggo Bond Finance

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

Muzinich poaches Neuberger Berman MD for top fund distribution role
Muzinich has hired a global head of distribution, according to an announcement today, picking up the role previously held by Joshua Hughes, who left for CIFC Asset Management in May

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

Astaldi CDS auction sets 30.875 final price as physical settlement boosts recovery
An auction today to settle credit default swaps referencing Astaldi has determined the final price to be 30.875 cents on the euro, meaning a 69.125 cents pay-out per euro for protection buyers

Crossover converges on CDX HY as Fed, earnings and heavy technicals take hold
Big moves of single name credits continue to hold sway over the iTraxx Europe Crossover credit default swap index, whose underperformance of US counterpart CDX HY has extended during the past week amid a big technical repositioning of flows

Credit sell-off has room to run and pricing is out of whack, says BNP Paribas
The credit market sell-off could have further to go despite recent widening and is “in the process of a late-stage business cycle unwind”, according to a strategist note seen by Creditflux

10 bidders line up for Astaldi CDS auction as Morgan Stanley swaps in for Mizuho
There will be 10 participating bidders to an auction to settle Astaldi credit default swaps, with the Determinations Committee unanimously approving Morgan Stanley’s involvement as Mizuho dropped out

Astaldi credit event auction deadline looms for participating bidders
Firms wishing to take part next week in a credit event auction to settle Astaldi credit default swaps have until 5pm London time today (23 November) to submit participating bidder letters to the Determinations Committee

European CDS index tightens inside US even as bonds languish
Credit derivatives markets have hit a key point of trend reversal this week, with the iTraxx Europe five-year CDS index trading inside its US counterpart CDX IG for the first time since May

Astaldi CDS holders face Thursday deadline on auction deliverables
Market participants with exposure to Astaldi have until 5pm London time tomorrow (8 November) to submit any other potential deliverable obligations into the auction to settle the company’s credit default swaps

Astaldi credit event auction will have two deliverables, says DC
Only two Astaldi bonds are deliverable into an auction to determine the final price of its credit default swaps, the Determinations Committee has indicated

Astaldi triggers first credit event in iTraxx on-the-run indices for nine years
Astaldi has triggered a bankruptcy credit event, the Isda-hosted EMEA Credit Determinations Committee has ruled

Astaldi credit event question hangs in balance as EMEA DC meets
The fate of credit default swap contracts referencing Astaldi could be decided today, with the Isda-hosted EMEA Credit Determinations Committee meeting to decide if the Italian builder has triggered a bankruptcy credit event

Astaldi credit event question posed as its distress weighs on iTraxx Crossover
Astaldi, a constituent of iTraxx Crossover, has been referred to ISDA-hosted Credit Determinations Committees as a possible bankruptcy credit event – less than two weeks after the index rolled into a new series

BlackRock becomes latest manager to explore interval fund structure for credit
Several managers have hit the market with the interval fund structure, as investors look to invest in illiquid strategies through an illiquid fund structure

Orchard hires former UBS credit index options and tranches global head
Orchard Global Asset Management has hired an ex-UBS senior correlation trader as a portfolio manager in London

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

Barclays hires another senior EM trader as Turkey continues to roil markets
Barclays has made an experienced hire to its EM credit trading team in London

Experienced CSAM holds off boutiques to win biggest prize
Credit Suisse Asset Management became a two-time winner of the Creditflux Manager of the Year award last month after picking up the 2018 trophy in front of a packed house at London’s Landmark Hotel on 9 May

Hermes launches £185 million unconstrained credit fund
London-based Hermes Investment Management has launched a new Ucits-compliant unconstrained credit fund - which will include pricing ESG risks

Join the debate: most memorable moment in credit
At Creditflux we’ve now produced 200 monthly magazines since Fishknife first came up with the idea of tracking the global credit markets in 2001). We asked several key credit industry officials about their most memorable moment in credit

Managers predict skill will win out
We asked managers to predict the year ahead across a range of credit strategies. Overall, they had a positive outlook. By Grace Jennings-Edquist

Muzinich debuts European total return credit strategy
Muzinich & Co has launched a new European-focused total return credit strategy that will have the ability to express both long and short views on credit