Credit funds at a glance (May 2020)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

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

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

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

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

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

Credit keeps its own rhythm amid oil crash and EU clash
As another week of worry and disappointment ends, the most optimistic thing that can be said for credit is the new peak spreads are lower than those that went before - suggesting a more manageable level of volatility is starting to characterise the market

Lebanon CDS auction pays out 86 cents to protection buyers
Holders of protection on Lebanon sovereign debt have received an 86 cent pay-out on every dollar, after today's credit event auction produced a final price of just 14 cents

Matalan heads deep into distress
Matalan, the UK retailer, is heading deep into distressed territory with its five-year CDS surging wider today

US/Europe relative value in play as oil prices stabilise
Tightening European credit indices today have added to the relative value trading opportunity with US counterparts ahead of that market's open

Eight bidders line up for Lebanon CDS auction as Morgan Stanley joins
Tomorrow's auction to settle Lebanon sovereign CDS will have eight participating bidders, after the Determinations Committee voted to add Morgan Stanley to the list

Market sell-off gathers pace as oil rout spills over into credit
Credit spreads are pushing wider across the board today, along with slumping stocks, after a crash in oil prices took WTI futures below zero for the first time

Frontier CDS auction to follow Lebanon and Whiting Petroleum
An auction to settle CDS referencing Frontier Communications will take place next month

Fortunes diverge for widest retailers as Crossover passes 500bp
CDS referencing Hema and Matalan, two of the riskiest constituents of iTraxx Crossover, have moved sharply in different directions amid a broad sell-off of Europe credit that takes the index back above 500bp

Italian banks push wider on EU coronabond stand-off
Political divisions over tackling the coronavirus economic crisis are front and foremost for European credit traders this week ahead of an EU leaders virtual summit on Thursday, with Italian and Spanish banks among today's worst performers in CDS

Credit Rendezvous: recovery begins, but is it U, V or even W?
Investing in credit is not as easy as ABC. The coronavirus crisis has crushed valuations and although most assets will eventually pull to par, no one is sure how the recovery will pan out

Extreme gap opens for basis traders as relief packages cause distortion
Evidence abounds for how government and central bank interventions in the coronavirus crisis are distorting credit markets, but one clear signal is the flip-around of the basis between corporate bonds and CDS in recent days

Trouble brews for hard-hit credits despite improving optimism
Deutsche Lufthansa, Hema and Matalan are among credits pushing wider against the grain today as the European market tightens back within its recent narrower range

Matalan default risk jumps as market mood dampens
UK retailer Matalan is a big decliner today in bonds and CDS, as positive sentiment ebbs from the credit market after the recent strong rally

Credit pulled in different directions as coronavirus relief opens political divisions
A cautious tone surrounds the return of European credit trading after the long weekend - and the Fed-package furore that ended last week. Today's lack of European credit direction comes despite big rallies in Asia, better stock markets and an EU agreement on Friday for €500 billion in stimulus measures

Lebanon CDS auction set to include 15 cent bonds
The cheapest bonds to deliver into a credit event auction to settle Lebanese sovereign CDS could be worth only 15 cents in the dollar, according to a 27-note initial list published by the Determinations Committee

US credit leads surge tighter on Fed package to close gap with Europe
What was already a much more positive week for credit has ended with a massive jump-start, as the US Federal Reserve unveiled a $2.3 trillion relief package targeting small businesses and municipalities but with additional support for bigger companies, including 'fallen angel' household names