High stakes promise big year for new short-dated CSOs
The bespoke tranche market looks set to put in revitalised issuance numbers in 2022 as interest grows in structured assets. But a clear trend is emerging for investors to assume short-dated exposure amid increasing macro and geopolitical uncertainty

Traders eye expensive options as they look to get creative
Credit market volatility trades may look exceptionally expensive, but that is not stopping them being a prized tool for investors on a number of fronts — from hedging longer-term macro risks, through pre-March index roll positioning, to cross-asset relative value plays

Ucits at a glance: 2022 opens shakily but with a familiar lead
Ucits funds moved slowly into 2022 as 59% made negative returns in January

Credit hedge funds (March 2022)
Credit hedge fund returns

Investors brace for rare iTraxx versus CDX IG roll dynamics
Credit traders are gearing up for a highly volatile index roll in March that could bring rare relative value dynamics between CDX and iTraxx

Russian power play causes Europe to break away from US
Russian intervention in Ukraine has become a central issue for credit market investors, who had been slow to acknowledge the mounting threat due to a prior fixation on high inflation and central bank hike

"Pivot points in curves may not stay where they have been historically"
CTAs and CSOs are changing the way credit curves move  

Market whipsaw sends indices and their constituents in opposite directions
The speed and violence of the credit market's oscillation is causing disruption in index skews, with constituent single names struggling to adjust quickly enough against deepening macro volatlity

RBC names head of high yield trading and e-strategy for leveraged finance
RBC Capital Markets has promoted a high yield trader and head of leveraged finance digital strategy to the position

Euro volatility outpaces US with pivotal hours ahead in Ukraine
Financial markets took another battering on Tuesday, as Russia's war with Ukraine ramped up and western countries moved to enact new sanctions

Ukraine crisis takes EU and Russian markets into new territory
Credit spreads went back to the wides again on Monday, after the European Union intensified its pressure on the Russian economy and reached an unprecedented agreement to supply Ukraine with weapons

Market whipsaws tighter as west holds out on Russian sanctions
Extreme market volatility is extending into the weekend, with a big gap tighter in spreads on Friday as the credit market see-saws due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the uncertain response of both western countries and China

Global markets reel as Russia goes to war with Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is sending shockwaves around the region and far beyond, with the military campaign demanding a sharp reassessment of where the spiralling crisis could lead

European credit rallies in stark discord with deepening Ukraine crisis
Cognitive dissonance looks to be afoot in the credit market on Wednesday, with indices rallying for a second day even as Russian and Ukrainian spreads move to new wides

Investors look to US response after Putin lights touch paper on Ukraine intervention
Credit investors are left facing a what-happens-next moment after Vladimir Putin recognised the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine as independent states, paving the way for Russian forces to intervene. In response the US has moved swiftly to impose new sanctions targeting the two regions

French co rattles investors on micro level as Russia overclouds macro
After a cautious opening, investors in the European credit market have resumed hedging as western leaders continue to talk up the prospect of Russia invading Ukraine and the Kremlin has dismissed hopes of a Biden-Putin summit as premature

Investors rush to hedge Russia as barrage of threats tee up nervous weekend
The prospect of a flare-up between Russia and Ukraine has left credit spreads back at their recent wide levels going into the weekend, with European investment grade credit particularly feeling the heat following 'false flag' headlines on Friday

Credit fund rout extends as storm winds buffet from all sides
Another choppy week for financial markets has extended the run of fund outflows, with investors fleeing from all parts of credit and even equity suffering a drop, with government bonds gaining traction

French airline flies against flock on pandemic repayment plans
Air France is a standout improver on Thursday against a backdrop of broad deterioration in single name credit spreads

Scramble to cover shorts extends rally, but analysts stub out tobacco
European outperformance of US credit is picking up despite the UK posting record inflation numbers, as optimism on Ukraine combines with the wrong-footing of investors that had positioned extremely bearishly

Europe drives relief rally after Russia signals troop withdrawal
European financial market volatility has brought another reversal of relative value dynamics versus the US, with Russia/Ukraine developments extending their sway

European panic over Ukraine pushes market to new wides
European underperformance of US credit has resumed at the start of the week, with the market waking up on Monday morning to another sharp sell off. But the lengthening downturn has some believing spreads have overshot, while others insist worse is to follow

Credit and equity fund flows diverge ahead of Fed emergency meeting
Outflows from credit have extended into another week, even as stocks returned to inflows, as speculation mounted the US Federal Reserve could opt for a 50bp hike in March or even an earlier than anticipated hike at an emergency meeting next week

Ukrainian volatility speaks loud and clear after Russia talks fail
Ukrainian and Russian credit are ending the week with renewed volatility, as failed attempts at diplomatic talks appeared to exacerbate rather than simmer down tensions between the countries

Europe outpaces US as investors scramble to cover their shorts
Lifting of short positions has helped take European credit into a second successive day of outperformance against the US, with financial companies and some of the more recently volatile high yield names leading the way