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

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

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

CDX HY and tranches hit as Whiting protection buyers win big pay-out
Whiting Petroleum CDS have settled at a final price of just seven cents, meaning a 93 cents pay-out to buyers of protection on the Denver headquartered exploration firm

Credit finely poised despite German affront to ECB bond buying programme
Credit markets have hit a moment of near equilibrium, with little change in most spreads, as the market seeks firmer answers to questions lockdown easing, earnings, oil supply/demand and political stand-offs

Whiting CDS heads to auction, with Morgan Stanley joining bidders
The credit event auction to determine Whiting Petroleum CDS takes place today, with Morgan Stanley added to participating bidders and the pay-out to protection buyers expected to be as much as 90 cents in the dollar 

Frontier CDS auction final list points to 75 cent pay-out
An auction next week to settle Frontier Communications CDS will have 20 deliverable obligations, according to a final list published by the Americas Determinations Committee. The cheapest of these suggest a payout on CDS of around 74.5 cents

European credit converges further with US after White House stokes coronavirus dispute
The mood hangs heavy in credit markets as the week begins, with the US having ramped up its war of words with China over the origin of coronavirus and much of Europe returning from 1 May holidays to catch up on Friday's move wider

US-Europe relative value gap closes as market sell-off resumes
Credit markets are heading wider into the weekend, with European underperformance closing a relative value gap that had opened with the US last Friday. The moves accompany detoriation in equity markets, stoked by the threat of a renewed US-China tariff war, pressured bank results, airline job cuts and poor UK economic numbers

Ecuador CDS auction has 10 bonds with only three-cent range
There are 10 bonds on an initial list of deliverable obligations to settle Ecuador sovereign CDS at auction, with the cheapest of these likely to recover at less than 29 cents

Mood lifts on stressed credits as European high yield leads rally
Some of the widest trading companies in European credit made a sharp move tighter on hopes of government support extending into high yield, as rallying momentum picked up this morning across the market before a US-led reversal

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

Diamond set to be fourth CDS auction in May
An auction to settle CDS referencing Diamond Offshore Drilling will take place on 22 May, the Americas DC has said, adding to auctions earlier in the month for Whiting Petroleum, Frontier Communications and Ecuador

Ecuador CDS gaps tighter as it heads to credit event auction
CDS referencing Ecuador sovereign bonds are rallying sharply, just as the Americas Determinations Committee set a date for them to be settled at a credit event auction

Selecta and Southwest battered as market trades flat as a pancake
Single name credit movements are taking focus as market volatility abates, with Selecta Group and Southwest Airlines earnings putting them among the biggest wideners

Europcar on the move with Spanish and shareholder support
Europcar Mobility Group is among the biggest movers today in bonds and CDS, after the French car rental company obtained Spanish government support and shareholder Eurozeo confirmed it would take part in a financing plan

HY tranche traders face another cut as Diamond hits the rough
US high yield index CDX HY has suffered its third constituent credit event in a month, after Diamond Offshore Drilling filed for chapter 11 protection in the Southern District of Texas. This is also the fifth default to hit on-the-run CDX HY tranches

Ecuador has triggered CDS contracts, says Determinations Committee
Ecuador has triggered a restructuring credit event, the Americas Determinations Committee has ruled

Airlines and banks lead way as credit rallies on aid measures
Airlines are getting the best of a positive start to the week, with hopes of financial assistance growing for European carriers and spreads generally pushing tighter after the Bank of Japan unveiled new stimulus measures