CDS index roll day threatened with delay by virus volatility
This week's scheduled move to new series of iTraxx and CDX indices has been thrown into doubt by the extent of coronavirus-led volatility, with IHS Markit consulting on whether to postpone the roll day

Credit hits new wides as US and Europe ramp up coronavirus battle plans
An emergency weekend rate cut by the US Federal Reserve as well as population lockdowns in France and Spain underscore that measures of economic risk have moved to a more systemic level as world governments scramble to deal with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak

Credit traders’ kickstand: roll nightmares haunt CDS market as indices whiplash
It’s Friday 13^th, but CDS traders will be hoping the worst of the horror shows are behind them as they try to regather their shredded nerves in time for next week’s biannual index rolls

Curve inversion for airlines and freight as Trump travel ban sparks sell-off
Airlines, travel firms and shipping companies are among some of the credits hit hardest by US president Donald Trump’s imposition of a ban on travel from mainland Europe, a move that sent the iTraxx Crossover index back to its widest level since October 2012

McClatchy whacks out killer headline as CDS pays 98 cents
A month ago, when US newspaper company McClatchy triggered a bankruptcy credit event, sellers of CDS protection may have consoled themselves they were only looking at paying out around 27 cents on the contracts. But yesterday’s credit event auction set the final price at just two, meaning a whopping 98 cent windfall for protection buyers

Credit breakdown as one-day volatility outstrips financial crisis
Credit default swap markets have surpassed the record one-day volatility of the global financial crisis, with indices surging to new wide prints as the spiralling impact of the coronavirus outbreak brings government lockdowns on travel while wreaking havoc on oil prices and supply chains

Credit traders' kickstand: this is not a drill
Freefall in financial markets has brought one of the credit market’s most volatile sessions on record, as coronavirus cases globally near 100,000 and the WHO has warned governments are not doing nearly enough. iTraxx Crossover one-day volatility is up with the 2008 global financial crisis and 2011 European sovereign crisis

Brigade collects $100 million for 'senior tranche' SMA
Brigade Capital Management has won a $100 million mandate from Texas County & District Retirement System for a structured credit fund geared towards senior tranches

Credit managers hunker down as idiosyncratic risks persist
A slew of earnings reports from credit managers and business development companies shows that deal-making and performance are robust, but great importance is being placed on credit selection.

Dealers zero in on pair of managed CSO formats
The eagerly awaited introduction of ‘managed’ CSOs is getting closer, with hopes still alive for an inaugural deal before the end of March and consensus forming around two alternative approaches.

Tranche traders aim to navigate default risk while staying clear of coronavirus contagion
The CDS market is navigating between two sources of risk for equity and mezzanine high yield index tranches. The default of US media company McClatchy has focused idiosyncratic concerns, while the spread of the coronavirus has stoked fears of a systemic sell-off.

IHS Markit mulls CDX EM growth and iTraxx ESG screen
Increasing the portfolio size of CDX EM and consulting on an ethically-screened version of iTraxx Europe are among the projects index administrator IHS Markit has been working on ahead of the 20 March roll.

Covid-19 outbreak rattles carry traders
The coronavirus panic hitting financials markets at the end of February has been a strong driver of relative value trades, with CDS underperforming both cash bonds and equity, while financial names felt the heat more than corporate borrowers as geographical risk came into play.

Axiom seeks high yield sweet spot with long-short fund
Axiom Alternative Investments is set to launch a long-short fund that will identify mispricings of high yield credit arising from the prolonged compression of spreads between different rating bands.

Huge CDS gap yawns between US and Europe, despite Fed intervention
Having crossed paths in a rare moment of compression on Monday, iTraxx Europe and its US counterpart CDX IG have since undergone one of their biggest moments of dislocation since the global financial crisis, as an emergency rate cut by the Federal Reserve failed to comfort investors about the impact of the coronavirus on the US economy

McClatchy bonds point to 50 cent CDS pay-out as auction deliverables finalised
McClatchy CDS in on course to pay out around 50 cents, based on cheapest bonds to deliver, after the Americas Determinations finalised five deliverable obligations for the media company’s credit event auction next week

Europe rallies hard after CDX IG closes tighter for first time since June
Volatility in credit remains heightened due to the coronavirus outbreak, but movement has become two-way, with European CDS indices surging tighter today after US index CDX IG ended yesterday’s session tighter than iTraxx Europe for the first time in nine months

McClatchy initial list points to 48 cent CDS pay-out
McClatchy CDS looks set to pay out around 47.5 cents to protection holders, if bonds on an initial list of deliverable obligations for the media company’s credit event auction make it to the final list

CDS takes brunt of coronavirus panic sell-off
European credit derivatives are among the hardest hit assets today amid a broad sell-off, as the fast spread of the coronavirus into Italy, Korea and Iran has brought a reappraisal of the impact it could have on financial markets

Credit traders’ kickstand: weaker mood, but primary drive strengthens
The primary market for high yield bonds is open again, after a pause around the US holiday on Monday, with issues in Europe today from the likes of SIlgan and Catalent striking a bullish tone and setting the scene for an expected flurry of deals next week. But this comes as credit generally weakens, with concerns about the spread and reappraisal of coronavirus cases causing spreads to push back from their recent tights

McClatchy CDS auction set for 10 March, despite fast-track request
Dealers on the Americas Determinations Committee have unanimously agreed to hold an auction to settle McClatchy CDS on 10 March, ignoring a request to expedite the process ahead of the media company’s scheduled plan of reorganisation

Super-fast CDS auction demanded on McClatchy
The DC has ruled that media company McClatchy triggered a bankruptcy credit event on 13 February. But it is yet to set a date for the credit event auction

McClatchy bankruptcy adds to slew of US media credit events
The McClatchy Company, a media sector constituent of CDS index CDX HY, has triggered a bankruptcy credit event, the Americas Determinations Committee has ruled

Whiting Petroleum CDS gaps wider as it engages debt advisors
Credit event concerns have taken CDX HY constituent Whiting Petroleum to a recent wide print, after the energy exploration firm’s management held talks with advisors to find ways to remedy its capital structure