German real estate co troubles mount on short-seller response and earnings no-show
Friday is proving a bad day to end a bad week in a bad year for Germany's Adler Group, with debt risk measures hitting new levels as short-seller Viceroy responds to the firm's recent investigation by KPMG and the market rumour mill goes up a gear

Volatility has teed up decompression trades: Barclays
Recent credit market turbulence has brought relative value trading opportunities between cash bonds and CDS, credit and equity as well as between investment grade and high yield, particularly in Europe

Credit awash with volatility in first week but investors load up
It has been a volatile opening week to the year for credit, but one in which investors have allocated bullishly to credit funds

Euro bonds set to outperform US despite big fund outflows: BofA
The November credit crash has left Euro investment grade bonds wider than those in the US, a rare occurrence that sets the scene for a January rally, say Bank of America credit strategists

Slow and sustainable trades will win race in '22: BofA
A year on from the US presidential election and unveiling of covid-19 vaccines, the credit compression looks challenged. But 'laggards' and sectors with strong capex growth still hold promise

Credit bull run falters as central bank glow abates
Thoughts that the credit market had taken a positive directional shift are turning, after Tuesday’s session has brought a sizeable retracement wider, but credit strategists predict an overall firming of tone into the end of the year off the back of dovish central bank meetings

Europe dominates ESG issuance, but US is racing to catch up: BofA
The stark gap between European and other regions in issuing ESG bonds has been thrown into the spotlight by last week’s COP26 summit. Nevertheless, encouraging data suggests the US is accelerating fast in its drive to bridge the gulf, finds Bank of America

It's a-live! AI platform launch puts US ratings in spotlight
RoboR8, a fintech platform that aims to democratise credit ratings through artificial intelligence, has launched and hopes to rate 50,000 companies by the end of December, before building to several million in 2022.

There's still time to pick up pennies in credit before steamroller arrives: BNP Paribas
Declining dealer inventories, rising fund cash balances, and a greater prevalence of hedging have added up to produce a credit market that is positioned too short, according to BNP Paribas strategists

Long duration high yield will overcome short-term rates carnage, says BofA
Bonds with inflation-protected real yield, longer duration, and especially those in the utilities sector are among the most compelling trades amid a phase of ‘policy paranoia’, according to Bank of America credit strategists

Credit shrugs off ECB tapering signal, but strategists warn of IG vulnerability
Credit markets are ending the week on a firm footing after taking in their stride the European Central Bank’s message that it expects to limit asset purchases in the coming quarter. But some parts of the market look more vulnerable than others, say strategists

Rising star portfolio has room to run, says JP Morgan
The theme of 'rising stars' still has room to run and investors should consider a basket of candidates to benefit in the coming months, according to JP Morgan credit strategists

High yield compression has one last push after real yields turn negative, says BofA
With real yields for European high yield bonds having turned negative, Bank of America credit strategists see "one last hurrah" for spread compression trades

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

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

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

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

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)

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