Primary weighs as pain contributor in credit slump
Credit is beginning the week on uncertain footing with spreads widening on worries about covid case numbers in Europe and investors trying to size up the scale of primary market activity in the coming weeks

Full circle for credit as investors navigate stormy year-opener
Credit is ending 2021's politically tumultuous first week tighter in cash bonds and flattish in CDS spreads, but performance has noticeably lagged more emphatic improvements in stocks, commodities and the record-hitting Bitcoin

Bet on beta compression - except in sub fin CDS, say BofA strategists
Beta compression will be a dominant theme in 2021 for high yield versus investment grade CDS and bonds, financial versus non-financial credit and subordinated versus senior financial bonds, say Bank or America strategists in a research note. Short volatility positions are also attractive, they add, while cautioning sub versus senior financial CDS could buck the trend

High yield has primary bonds more than Georgia on mind in third day of underperformance
European high yield credit is on a run of underperformance as the first signs of primary market bond issuance appear, with spreads widening for a third day straight against improvement in other asset classes

Disconnect as credit sells off as stocks and oil strengthen
Credit is a big underperformer today versus stocks, with the sell off that began yesterday afternoon starkly at odds with the positive tone with which the week began

Financials lead as credit opens 2021 with optimism
Financial credits, and particularly banks, are among the big movers today with the market having opened 2021 in buoyant mood following agreements on a Brexit deal and US stimulus package

Sharp reversal for banks, travel and commodity firms as EU shuts borders
About a month's worth of improvement in high yield credit spreads - and nearly two months in investment grade - has been wiped out today, with European countries banning flights from the UK and Brexit talks missing a key deadline

Fund performance: CLOs look to continue recovery with end of the year in sight
CLO funds claim the majority of positions in our top 10

Ucits at a glance: Year-to-date returns head for double figures
Ucits funds generally performed well in October as 75% achieved positive returns

Credit funds at a glance (January 2021)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Credit hedge funds (January 2021)
Monthly credit hedge fund tables

Convexity pushes high yield bond basis to the forefront
Compression had become the watchword of the market as Creditflux went to press, providing justification for high yield versus investment grade macro plays, wide-end long positioning and selective tight-end shorts. But the more important driver, say some relative value investors, was convexity

Little room to move in IG’s vice-like grip
The absolute tightness of credit has left investment grade specialists a tough challenge to find value in the coming year, with neither scope for spread improvement nor encouragement to go short

It's all relative: Euro CLO mezz rallies to follow month-long IG/HY compression
European credit suffered this week with Brexit talks between the UK and the EU dragging on and both sides conceding that a trade deal is unlikely to be reached by Sunday’s deadline. But European CLO tranches have held up reasonably well with mezzanine spreads tightening by almost 13% in December

Credit sell off gathers pace ahead of Brexit crunch day
With both sides in the EU-UK negotiations conceding that trade talks are most likely to conclude on Sunday without an agreement, credit is again a big underperformer today as more longs cut and run while hedging picks up

Big push wider in high yield as traders cut their longs
Europe's iTraxx Crossover CDS index has given up a big part of its recent rally today, underperforming other indices amid signs traders are closing up books early for the end of the year

Index sell off hits at start of busy week for primary
Credit is stumbling into the week, with a widening of index spreads that noticeably underperforms stock markets

Europe leads corporate credit rally, but US outperforms in CLOs
iTraxx Crossover has been the CDS market's outperformer this week, tightening over 30 basis points, or 11.4%, to trade at 235bp today. But in the CLO market, US deals have come out on top thanks to a BlackRock CLO that priced its double Bs at some of the tightest levels this year

ECB stimulus hopes bolster high yield outperformance
Spread compression has picked up again, with European high yield taking the lead as expectations mount for another round of European Central Bank stimulus at its meeting next week

High yield resumes compression as IG seeks direction
High yield companies are once again among the best performers today as compression resumes with the investment grade credit market, despite an absence of compelling signals from stock indices or oil prices

Wide-end names gain ground as market hits impasse
Financial markets appear to have a hit resistance points in several asset classes today, with credit, stocks and oil prices struggling to find traction despite encouraging signals from the UK on rolling out the Pfizer/BioNTech covid vaccine

Spread compression resumes with US passing key milestones
Credit markets have resumed their crunch tighter today, with an absence of any obviously negative brakes to offset strengthening Asian industrial numbers and applications by vaccine makers for emergency approval in the US and Europe

Bulls give up some gains as IG banks and energy lead market wider
In a cautious opening to the week, credit spreads are edging wider against a backdrop of faltering oil prices but marginally strengthened stocks

Compression plays out as HY and European CLO double Bs outperform
Investment grade and high yield credit spreads have tightened in sync with each other this week, but CDS and CLOs alike underline that the big theme over the past month has been compression between investment grade and high yield

Europe keeps to the grind with wide-end driving improvement
Credit exhibits a firm tone as the week draws to a close, with index spreads grinding back towards their tights despite a mixed picture for oil prices and much of the US market away after the thanksgiving holiday