Lingering covid vies with inflation as top credit threat, finds BofA
Covid-19 lingering is catching up with inflation as credit investors' number one worry, Bank of America's August survey has found. The picture for central bank purchases is bullish, but strategists see industrial and bank senior bonds as shorts for contrarians over the summer

Rising stars will fuel double B boom, says BofA
A rising star cycle is underway and adds to a bullish outlook for double B credits with company results pointing to an ‘epic V-shaped recovery’ in high yield revenues and earnings, say Bank of America credit strategists

Green QE is future, says BofA
Last week's European Central Bank strategy review confirmed that climate change policies will dictate the shape of future asset purchases, say Bank of America credit strategists

Single Bs and periphery in favour as European HY market deleverages: BofA
Single B, periphery, leisure, retail and services high yield credit all look to offer value, amid indications the European market is deleveraging quicker than expected

US private credit deals set to increase but flexible terms may not remain, finds Katten
The private credit market is optimistic about deal flow for 2021 but respondents in law firm Katten's survey are mindful that flexible deal terms will not remain forever

Corp hybrid popularity mounts, but strategist outlooks diverge
Corporate hybrid bonds are becoming a focal point for investors in the second quarter, with one bank's credit strategy team making them a top pick to trade spread compression while another's has expressed caution on their likely performance

Yield rise is buying signal for bonds, says BNP Paribas
Credit spreads are set to hit new cyclical tights in the coming months, with the recent rise in yields having offered an attractive entry point especially for high-rated bonds, say BNP Paribas credit strategists

Rates moves points to credit improvement, say BofA strategists
Focus on the rates market and the future direction of central banks has brought jitters back to credit in recent weeks and had a chilling affect on bond total returns. But higher government yields could end up being good for credit, say Bank of America strategists

ESG growth in CLOs has momentum in 2021, say JPM strategists
ESG investing in securitised products such as CLOs have 'momentum for growth in 2021' despite very slow volume growth and lack of progress in standardised scoring over the past year, say JP Morgan strategists in a research note

Bet on beta compression - except in sub fin CDS, say BofA strategists
Beta compression will be a dominant theme in 2021 for high yield versus investment grade CDS and bonds, financial versus non-financial credit and subordinated versus senior financial bonds, say Bank or America strategists in a research note. Short volatility positions are also attractive, they add, while cautioning sub versus senior financial CDS could buck the trend

Loan market delivers best one-day returns since April due to US election and vaccine
The S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index recorded its best single day returns since April on Monday as investors celebrated in a string of positive developments that sent markets into overdrive

Robots rise for credit ratings
A fintech platform is launching this month that aims to use artificial intelligence to democratise credit ratings.

High yield outperformance to bring compression trade back into play: Citi
High yield underperformance versus investment grade is expected to reverse following the US presidential election, according to a strategy note from Citi. The bank’s strategists have been advocating compression trades since July and feel that there is more room for this to run citing election trends, exposure to coronavirus credits, expected default rates and credit ratings

Go long index mezz tranches to pick up spread: Citi
Citi research has outlined some of the opportunities that have arisen in the index tranche market as a result of elevated correlation

Green credit advocate launches research body
Stockholm-based portfolio manager and green credit advocate Ulf Erlandsson has today announced the launch of research body Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute (AFII)

Barclays increases European loan and CLO issuance forecasts
Barclays has increased its European leveraged loans issuance expectations due to “better than expected recovery in issuance from M&A and LBO activity”, while its European CLO 2020 issuance forecast increased to  €15 billion-€18 billion, up from a previous estimate of €12-15 billion

Private debt secondaries volume nosedives 81% in H1
Global private debt fund secondaries volume nosedived 81.8% during the first half of 2020 as the effects of coronavirus began to surface, according to a recently released report by Setter Capital

Governance has greatest impact on short-term changes in company valuation out of ESG factors, finds MSCI
Governance has more impact than environmental and social factors on company financial fundamentals and stock price in the short term, but ‘E’ and ‘S’ play their part over the long term, according to analysis from MSCI

Leveraged loan spreads to widen to March levels, warn UBS strategists
US leveraged loan spreads could widen back to March levels of 825 basis points as default risk increases, according to strategists at UBS.

Autos dominate in BofA €25 billion fallen angel watchlist
Downgrade impact for fallen angels in the coming months could be more extreme than during the 2008 financial crisis, Bank of America strategists have warned, as they identified €25 billion worth of debt at European investment grade companies most at risk of falling into high yield territory

Sovereign borrowing will crowd out corps and produce fallen angels, warns BofA
Investors should be wary of buying coporate credit that yields less than sovereign debt, Bank of America strategists have warned, predicting €20-30 billion of European fallen angel volume lies ahead as the market cycle turns

Hedge against coronavirus, says JP Morgan, naming 40 most exposed credits
With novel coronavirus cases rising at what looks to be an exponential rate, JP Morgan strategists have proposed a high yield hedge to address the rising threat to European credit spreads and listed 40 borrowers they think are most exposed to impact

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

CLO supply set for double-digit drop in 2020, says JP Morgan
US CLO supply in 2020 will be as much as 20% down on 2019, while European issuance will fall 13% year-on-year, predict JP Morgan strategists in a research note. Even so, new CLOs should still outpace existing deal paydowns, as well as high yield primary market net new issuance

Diverging views emerge over performance of ESG investing, RBC survey reveals
Investors which incorporate ESG principles are convinced it adds value, but those who do not are more uncertain, according to a survey by RBC Global Asset Management