Rude awakening for credit as US airstrike sends global shockwaves
It only took a day for the positive mood greeting financial markets in 2020 to turn nervous, with credit and equities faltering in early trading today after the US killed a top Iranian military official

Credit traders enter 2020 a world away from 2019's opening blues
CDS markets are showing what a difference a year makes, with indices beginning 2020 at post-crisis record or near record tights. And concerns such as Brexit or US-China (and lately UK-China) tensions are doing little to dampen the mood in today's buoyant trading session

Texas pension appoints CIO
Teacher Retirement System of Texas has appointed a new chief investment officer, effective from January 2020  

CSO arrangers look to build on $65bn of issuance in 2019
The synthetic bespoke tranche market this year has fallen short of expectations in terms of overall issuance volume, but ends with transformative inroads being made.

Private debt secondaries expected to soar in 2020
Private debt secondaries grew massively in 2019 — and more is expected this year.

Falling correlation reignites passion for index tranche trades
Dispersion in the global corporate credit market is rekindling interest in correlation trading, with dealer sources reporting that a late surge lifted 2019 index tranche volumes to $250 billion.

Activists sign up to narrowly tailored event protocol
The International Swaps & Derivatives Association has signed up 1,298 parties, including nine reference dealers, to a protocol aimed at preventing narrowly tailored credit events (NTCEs).

Deep dive trade is on, but single name risks still abound
High yield CDS is reversing its previous underperformance versus investment grade, reflecting an investor shift down the quality spectrum in cash bonds.

Deans Foods auction delivers big lunch for CDS protection buyers
Dean Foods CDS has been settled in a credit event auction at a final price of just 9.25 cents – half the 18 cents indicated by the Dallas-headquartered company’s bonds at the time the auction was called

No 2020 recession, cyclical bonds will outperform and CLOs won't crash, says BNP Paribas
There will not be a recession in 2020 and investors should stay long credit with the expectation that high yield cyclical and non-financial borrowers will outperform in a bullish market, BNP Paribas strategists have confidently predicted

Dean Foods CDS to have one deliverable, with 80 cent pay-out indicated
There will be only one bond deliverable into an auction to settle CDS referencing Dean Foods, the Americas Determinations Committee has confirmed

Dean Foods CDS set to have only one deliverable on the menu
Only one bond has made it onto the supplemental list of deliverable obligations for an auction to settle CDS referencing Dean Foods

Non-dealers overtake banks as biggest holders of diminishing CDS pie
The share of the CDS market held by non-dealer financial institutions has surpassed that of dealers for the first time, according to latest Bank for International Settlements data. But firms are scrapping over a smaller pie, as outstanding single name CDS continues to fall

US pension backs insurance credit fund
Montana Board of Investments has committed $40 million to an insurance credit fund opportunity fund managed by Vida Capital Management, according to a document seen by Creditflux.  

Creditors left with sour taste as two food companies file for bankruptcy
Credit investors have been left to digest two US food company bankruptcy filings this week, with dairy producer Dean Foods triggering the first credit event to hit on-the-run series 33 of the CDX HY index, while Houlihan's Restaurants has also sought protection

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

Deadline just hours away for CDS users to sign Isda protocol
Midday New York time is the cut-off for market participants to sign up to the International Swaps & Derivatives Association’s protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events from CDS

Rising idiosyncratic risk leads to calls for high yield index tranche fix from traders
As sources of funding dry up for the weakest borrowers in the credit market, some correlation traders are calling for an overhaul of CDX NA HY index tranches to make trades on wide-end dispersion more effective.

ESG integration is part of fiduciary duty, finds UNPRI
The United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) report ‘Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century’, published late last month, concludes that ESG is a source of investment value, ending debate that using ESG criteria might violate fiduciary duties.

Corporate credit performance expected to catch up with financial borrowers as European quantitative easing begins
The return of European Central Bank quantitative easing on 30 October portends a catch up this month of corporate credit performance with other parts of the market, such as financial borrowers, say strategists.

Over 1,200 sign up to CDS protocol
Plans to improve CDS market integrity have received a boost, with the International Swaps & Derivatives Association drawing a stronger than expected response to its protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events (NTCEs).

FisherBroyles hires derivatives and regulations specialist as partner
FisherBroyles, an Atlanta headquartered law firm, has hired derivatives and securities specialist Julian Hammar as a partner in its New York and Washington, DC offices

Credit traders' kickstand: QE and dispersion sever 'haves' from 'have nots'
The underperformance of European high yield credit has picked up this week, on rising concerns about dispersion in funding access

CDS traders get second extension on narrowly tailored credit event protocol
The International Swaps & Derivatives Association has extended for a second time the deadline for market participants to adhere to a protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events from the CDS market

Traders face Monday deadline for manufactured credit event protocol
Interested parties have until Monday to sign up to a protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events from the CDS market, with the International Swaps & Derivatives Association having given extensions on the original deadline