Buy iTraxx Europe equity tranche risk but sell Crossover mezz, says JP Morgan
Investors should stick with ‘search for yield’ ideas in investment grade credit, say JP Morgan credit strategists, including selling iTraxx Europe 0-3% equity tranches delta hedged, going long the 10-year Europe index, and selling credit volatility through index options while buying equity market volatility

Credit traders' kickstand: volatility puts paid to primary, but pays out for relative value buyers
The persistence of credit market choppiness has brought into focus CDS/bond basis plays, options positioning, high yield dispersion and peripheral European weakness - but mainly the volatility rash has put a block on borrowers' primary market aspirations

Galapagos CDS settles higher than expected despite net interest to sell
Galapagos Holdings CDS settled at a price that, while low, was nonetheless higher than had been implied by initial markets despite a net open interest among participating dealers to sell the company’s bonds

Galapagos CDS auction kicks off with very low initial market midpoint
Bidding in a credit event auction today to settle Galapagos Holdings CDS has produced a very low initial market midpoint, suggesting there will be a high final pay-out to holders of protection

Galapagos CDS auction looms with Morgan Stanley added to participating bidders
A credit event auction tomorrow to settle Galapagos Holdings CDS will have 10 participating bidders, with Morgan Stanley having been approved by other dealers to take part

Och-Ziff revenue tumbles despite inflows to credit funds and CLOs
Och-Ziff Capital Management posted a net loss of $8.6 million in the second quarter, which it blamed on the market’s reaction to US China trade tensions and the US Federal Reserve’s twist of monetary policy

New EC fund rules could lead to ‘pre-pre-marketing’
The European Commission has approved a standardised concept of ‘pre-marketing’ in a move that could see more capital flow through the European Economic Area. The new definition of pre-marketing is meant to provide clarity, but some sources say that the amendments could be seen as an additional burden and lead to a concept of pre-pre-marketing.

Flat curves and decompression make waves below the surface
Hopes of using the summer slowdown to get to the beach may be tempered for credit relative value traders, where opportunities abound behind the uninspiring benchmark numbers of the slow market grind.

Ellington finds Ucits success with mix of structured and synthetic
Fund managers are finding ample liquidity in the structured and synthetic credit market and this is helping them outperform in the Ucits fund universe.

Net short language could force lenders to sell at a loss
Signs are growing that ‘net short’ provisions in bonds and loans are getting closer to hitting CDS investors, with two instances in recent weeks of the language expanding both in geographical and functional remit.

Back to basis (and skew) as relative value plays catch-up
Basis trades between bonds and CDS failed to gain traction during July as synthetic markets held ground or improved their position versus cash, but this is beginning to change, say market participants.

Galapagos CDS auction date set
Settlement of Galapagos Holdings CDS will take place on Wednesday next week (7 August), the auction’s administrator Creditex has said

BlueMountain lands senior credit trader in New York
BlueMountain has hired an experienced trader in New York to cover credit and special situations

Index tranches and Sub Fin basket among top picks after ECB meeting, says JP Morgan
The European Central Bank’s statement that rate cuts will likely be paired with tiered deposit rates suggests a boost for the iTraxx Sub Financials index, as well as tier two and additional tier one bank bonds, says JP Morgan in latest credit research. The bank also advocates selling iTraxx Europe 0-3% tranches delta hedged

Galapagos CDS set for high pay-out with one deliverable on initial list
Galapagos Holdings could have only the bond on which it defaulted as a deliverable obligation into an auction to settle its CDS

Credit traders' kickstand: tighter and tighter we go, as outlook gets 'worse and worse'
It’s a strange world, where the president of the European Central Bank can say the economic outlook is “getting worse and worse” as credit markets surge into new territories of tightness

LCH replaces CEO of London clearing business
Clearing house LCH has appointed a new chief executive of LCH Ltd, its UK registered business

Weatherford CDS auction delivers 55.5 cent pay-out to protection buyers
A credit event auction to settle Weatherford International CDS returned a final price of 44.5 cents on the dollar, lower than where bonds had been quoted and meaning a pay-out to protection buyers of 55.5 cents

Dutch development bank creates ESG and impact standing committee
The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) has created a standing committee for impact and environmental, social and governance investing

Regulators delay final initial margin deadline and add extra roll-out phase
Regulators have granted a one-year reprieve to smaller counterparties from a requirement to post initial margin on derivative trades, while introducing an additional implementation phase. But while a relief for large numbers of firms struggling to meet the deadline, the concession still ignores calls from industry bodies to deploy a higher final capture threshold

Final list of deliverables published for Weatherford CDS auction
There will be 17 notes deliverable into an auction on Thursday to settle Weatherford International CDS, the Americas Determinations Committee has confirmed

Galapagos has triggered failure-to-pay credit event, says DC
Galapagos Holdings has triggered a failure-to-pay credit event on its 7% senior notes due 2022, the Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee has ruled unanimously

Morgan Stanley joins participating bidders for Weatherford CDS auction
Morgan Stanley has been added to the list of participating bidders for an auction next week to settle CDS referencing Weatherford International CDS, with the Americas Determinations Committee also confirming 17 deliverable obligations on the supplemental list

Asia CDS index overhaul posits 50% constituent change
IHS Markit has said it will push ahead with plans to overhaul iTraxx Asia ex-Japan CDS index rules from the next roll in September, with up to half the constituents expected to change over time as it seeks closer alignment with the cash bond market

Investor requirements rather than performance is driving ESG push: Creditflux survey
Only 14% of respondents to Creditflux's global credit ESG survey said performance was the main reason they were adopting envoronmental, social and governance-themed strategies