JC Penney becomes seventh bankruptcy credit event to hit index tranches
JC Penney has triggered a bankruptcy credit event, the Americas Determinations Committee has ruled

RBC makes it three CDS auctions in a row after debuting this month
Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Canada have been added to the list of participating bidders this week for credit event auctions to settle CDS referencing Ecuador and Diamond Offshore Drilling

JC Penney bankruptcy weighs on CLO and CDX HY baskets
CLO managers hold nearly $250 million of the debt of JC Penney, which filed for chapter 11 protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on Friday

Intelsat triggers bankruptcy credit event
Intelsat Investments has triggered a bankruptcy credit event, the Americas Determinations Committee has ruled

Idiosyncratic risk keeps traders on their toes as volatility abates
Global credit markets are ending the week at wider levels, after early gains, with optimism waning on the likely pace of recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and nervousness ahead of key economic numbers next week. But volatility has clearly abated from the picture, replaced by greater focus on some of the more troubled companies and sectors

DC agrees to consider Intelsat bankruptcy credit event
The Americas Determinations Committee has accepted a request to rule on whether Intelsat Investments has triggered a bankruptcy credit event, after parent company Intelsat SA filed for Chapter 11 protection

Frontier CDS auction pays less than bonds had indicated
A credit event auction to settle Frontier Communications CDS produced a slightly better result than expected for protection sellers

Diamond deliverables point to 89 cents pay-out on CDS
An auction to settle CDS referencing Diamond Offshore Drilling looks set to have four deliverable obligations, all of which are quoted around 11 cents

DC sets Neiman Marcus CDS auction date
A credit event auction to settle Neiman Marcus CDS will be the fifth taking place this month

Frontier CDS to be settled today with RBC joining bidders
Frontier Communications CDS will be settled today in a credit event auction, with 10 dealers participating

Argentina retreats from wides as it allows more time on $65 billion question
Argentina sovereign CDS has eased back from its recent peak after the country extended the deadline to agree a debt restructuring with international bondholders

Ecuador auction final list points to 67 cents pay-out on CDS
A credit event auction next week to settle Ecuador sovereign CDS will have 10 deliverable obligations, according to a final list published by the Americas Determinations Committtee

Morgan Stanley joins bidders for Frontier CDS auction
Morgan Stanley has been added to the list of participating bidders for a credit event auction this week to settle Frontier Communications CDS

CLOs on lookout as Neiman recovery signals slump and DC confirms credit event
Five-year CDS referencing Neiman Marcus widened by four points to 95.25 points up front, according to IHS Markit, as the Americas Determinations Committee confirmed the US retailer has triggered a bankruptcy credit event

Where are the gloating I-told-you-so columnists who claimed CLOs would bring global destruction?
We have seen a measured response to the coronavirus crisis: fund managers aren’t collapsing and investors are not shunning CLOs

US retailer bankruptcy spells hit for CLOs and CDX HY tranches
US retailer Neiman Marcus's filing for chapter 11 protection opens the prospect of a fourth credit event in the CDX HY index and a sixth for on-the-run HY tranches, as well as a hit for CLOs

CSOs are hurting but will emerge stronger, say sources
It is unsurprising that bespoke synthetic tranches have suffered during the covid-19 crisis, as they are backed largely by real money investors that have gone outright long credit risk. But more noteworthy and reassuring, say sources, is that most have held firm in their positions and look set to stick with the asset class — in contrast to the 2008 global financial crisis exodus

KKR takes covid-19 hit on flagship credit funds and lev fin
KKR took a 16% hit to returns on its alternative credit flagship funds amid the first quarter coronavirus downturn and a 13% loss on leveraged credit, taking these into negative territory for the last 12 months. The firm's private equity portfolio also slumped by 12%

Alecta partners with PGGM for SRT co-investments
Swedish pension fund Alecta has formed a co-investment partnership with PGGM to invest in significant risk transfers

On-site due diligence rules pose fundraising challenge
Stipulations in some fund limited partner bylaws dictating strict due diligence could pose a challenge for asset managers, sources say

Points up front: Blame it on capitalism
You know it’s a tough month for returns when a hedge fund manager quotes Lenin and laments that capitalism and globalisation have failed to distribute wealth efficiently

Skew trades bloom in winter for credit
March fund returns submitted to Creditflux in April were poor, but one manager distinguished itself in the covid-19 dislocation using a synthetic strategy rarely seen since the 2008 financial

Base correlation tumbles as idiosyncratic risks emerge
The market-distorting power of government and central bank interventions has been easily observable in bond/CDS differentials during the covid-19 crisis — as noted in various Creditflux articles this past month. But an even more extreme reaction appeared in CDX index tranches on 9 April, when base correlation measures plummeted following the US Federal Reserve’s unveiling of a $2.3 trillion aid package

Credit markets adjust to stay-at-home rules
Lockdown orders across the world have forced the loan and CLO markets to modernise certain industry practices at speed, leading to speculation that some of the emergency measures adopted could become permanent, according to market participants

Credit hedge fund returns: March 2020 stats
Monthly performance across credit hedge funds