Franklin Templeton reorganises long-short credit fund team
Asset manager Franklin Templeton Investments will make changes to the portfolio managers for the Franklin K2 Long Short Credit funds, effective from October

Thomas Cook CDS protection buyers could be left stranded
Thomas Cook Group’s triggering of a bankruptcy credit event spells a high pay-out for some CDS protection buyers, with implied recovery values heading towards zero. But the fate of contracts maturing at last week’s CDS roll still hung in the balance at time of press

Nine bidders for Steinhoff CDS auction as SocGen joins
Tomorrow’s auction to settle CDS referencing Steinhoff Europe will have nine participating bidders, after Societe Generale was added to the list

Deadline day for participating bidders as Steinhoff auction looms
Firms wishing to be participating bidders in Wednesday’s auction to settle Steinhoff Europe CDS have until 5pm today London time (12pm New York) to submit applications to the Determinations Committee

Thomas Cook credit event questions queue up as rescue talks collapse
The weekend collapse of UK travel operator Thomas Cook has brought two more requests for the Determinations Committee to rule on credit event triggers – one for bankruptcy and another for failure to pay

Dechert adds funds partner in Dublin office
Dechert adds official from Maples Group 

Thomas Cook credit event question travels beyond index roll, as Steinhoff deliverables finalised
An auction next week to settle Steinhoff Europe CDS will have two deliverable obligations, the Determinations Committee has confirmed. But resolution of a bankruptcy credit event question on iTraxx Crossover name Thomas Cook spills over beyond today’s roll into a new series, after the DC was unable to reach a decision this week

Orrick poaches securitisation partner from Ropes & Gray
The hire might help the firm move up CLOi Advisor rankings

Thomas Cook looks set to fly solo as default in outgoing Crossover series 31
The Determinations Committee has accepted a request to rule on whether Thomas Cook Group has triggered a bankruptcy credit event, after the UK-based travel company filed for chapter 15 protection in New York

The Last Tranche: managed CSOs and the benefit of CLO Euribor floors [podcast]
Managed CSOs are the talk of the town in the synthetic structured credit market, while CLO investors in Europe are putting a price on how much they value CLO Euribor floors  

Go long CLO triple-A and pick cash bonds over CDS, says JP Morgan
Going long European CLO triple A paper remains one of JP Morgan strategists’ favourite trades following the European Central Bank stimulus announcement last week, despite these tranches having rallied 14bp on average since the bank first backed them. They also predict cash credit to outperform CDS

Date set for long-delayed Steinhoff auction, with two deliverables
An auction to settle CDS referencing Steinhoff Europe will take place on Wednesday next week – six months after the Determinations Committee ruled that the retailer had triggered a failure-to-pay credit event

Credit traders' kickstand: ECB rocket boosts Europe's outperformance of US
Investment grade credit index iTraxx Europe has reopened a 5bp differential with US counterpart CDX IG, boosted by the European Central Bank’s stimulus plan

China ambitions checked in final roll lists for iTraxx and CDX indices
The index roll lists for iTraxx Europe, iTraxx ex-Japan and CDX EM, have all undergone a rethink since IHS Markit published provisional lists earlier this week, with final lists showing name changes

Axiom makes big name correlation hire for credit opportunity fund
Axiom Alternative Investments has boosted its platform with the hire of synthetic credit veteran as a portfolio manager

Draghi sends European credit to 2019 tights, as Trump demands Fed response
European investment grade credit – and particularly the financial sector – surged tighter today as European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, in the penultimate meeting of his reign, unveiled a ‘whatever it takes’ stimulus

US spreads reconverge on Europe as traders hold breath for ECB
Credit markets are finely poised ahead of today’s meeting of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt today, with some positivity around US-China tariff talks allowing US spreads to gain ground as European expectation remains tempered by German recession fears

iTraxx and CDX roll provisional lists reveal effects of index overhauls
Eagerly awaited provisional lists are out for this month’s index CDS rolls, with big changes signalled across iTraxx and CDX products

CDS data snapshot: central bank positioning and index rolls drive flows
Welcome to the inaugural run of what will become a weekly insight into credit derivatives trading. Each week, Creditflux will highlight trends and dynamics from most recently available market data. We welcome feedback on measures of the market readers would like to see here in future

US credit managers make ESG breakthrough after taking a first step via UNPRI
Incorporating a framework for investing in companies based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors is a challenge that US credit managers are accepting in growing numbers

DC makes inverted engagement with Top Gun CDS auction amid settlement challenges
The EMEA Determinations Committee has reconsidered its decision not to hold an auction for CDS referencing Top Gun Realisations 61, after market participants complained of challenges in settling transactions on the defaulted entity

Nordea AM portfolio manager joins Capital Four
Capital Four Management has appointed Nordea Asset Management portfolio manager Stine Milling Pilegaard as a director in its Copenhagen office

If you can stomach volatility, CLO equity is very attractive

Credit traders' kickstand: Financials lead compression as pre-ECB and index roll bulldozers flatten spreads
Caution does not appear to be an operative word in financial markets ahead of next week’s key European Central Bank meeting, with financial names leading the way as credit spreads return to this year’s tightest levels and stocks ascend towards post-crisis peaks

Helicopter money is more productive than sponsoring the next bout of company share buybacks
The ECB is set to recommence its asset purchase programme, but what’s wrong with putting money directly into the hands of people?