Sell-off regathers momentum as inflation signals mount
A glum mood has returned to financial markets, beginning with the US session on Tuesday and overspilling into global trading on Wednesday

Financials and high yield corps retrace tighter after inflation shake out
Credit markets firmed up on Tuesday, with European single name CDS finding a chance to recover some ground after Monday's inflation-led weakness. But credit indices underperformed, struggling to return tighter even as stock indices advanced once again and oil prices hit new highs

Credit underperformance resumes as equity turns corner
Credit markets are pushing wider once again on Wednesday, even though stock markets look to regaining some composure following Tuesday's steep sell off

US pension hunts for opportunistic credit manager
Managers have until 4pm ET on Tuesday 1st June to complete the request for proposal

Past returns: Hedging is back
Ten years ago in Creditflux we reported that loan managers had begun hedging after loan prices stabilised back to par following the global financial crisis. These loan managers were worried about future loan slumps and began using credit options and ETFs

Fund performance: Lightning strikes twice as range of credit funds deliver
What seemed like a chance occurrence in February has struck again in March, as seven categories make our top 10 best performing hedge funds

Non-mandated CDS clearing leaps ahead of margin deadline
The regulatory drive to increase clearing of derivatives is making big strides in the credit market. But a standout feature of 2021 is the acceleration in central counterparty clearing of products not subject to a regulatory mandate, such as CDS index options and single names

Credit and stocks regain composure on rates as oil hits new heights
Credit and equity markets have improved again on Wednesday morning, after US treasury secretary Janet Yellen's comments about possible rate rises spooked markets on Tuesday afternoon

M&A drives movers in high yield and investment grade
Acquisition talks are having the biggest impact on European credit spreads on Tuesday following the UK bank holiday, with several names moving against an otherwise flat market

Banks set to offer client clearing of credit index options
Bank members of LCH, the London Stock Exchange's clearing arm, will soon start offering client clearing of CDS index options, as the industry prepares for its next ramp up of margining requirements

CSOs and index tranches reach sticking point as correlation gets rich
Credit correlation trading looks to have reached a point of inflexion, as the previous bull run at the lower end of index capital stacks has given way to caution over how much further spread compression can go. At the same time, bespoke tranche business is gaining interest but equity remains stickier to sell at the market's ultra-low spread and volatility levels

Picard and Cleveland-Cliffs underscore high yield single name sensitivity
Picard entered a relief rally on Friday after postponing a triple-tranche bond deal backing a refinancing and shareholder dividend

Brevan Howard hires senior credit PM
Brevan Howard has hired an experienced credit portfolio manager in New York

Tobacco splutters in broad market sell off
Credit and equity are under pressure on Tuesday as markets pull back from their improved levels amid concerns about the worsening global covid-19 picture. But tobacco companies have their own problems to contend with, with the US considering a proposal to require lower nicotine levels in cigarettes and other countries also looking to curb sales

Lord Abbett prepares special situations interval fund
Lord Abbett is preparing to launch a new special situations fund in the form of an interval fund

Credit Rendezvous: ready and waiting
In Creditflux's quarterly review of credit, portfolio managers tell us that Inflation is likely to nudge higher but they are optimistic because dispersion will pick up and windows of volatility will emerge, rather than elongated phases of stress 

"IG investors might want to rethink the instrument, but they need not fear rising rates just yet"
In his latest column for Creditflux, Cheyne's Duncan Sankey writes that the sharp rise in 10-year US treasuries could be positive for investment grade investors, but value is in CDS rather than bonds 

Hermes seeks ESG alpha in companies making changes
Buy-side demand to tick boxes for ESG standards has fuelled a boom in green and social impact bonds that is extending into high yield issuance. But as investment opportunities mount, so does soul-searching about the next phase

Technicals support IG while investors hunt for rising stars
Investment grade credit spreads have been stubbornly tight for the past six-months, but investors see positive technical factors that make lower-rated bonds appealing

Dutch telco CDS leaps on private equity rumours
An iTraxx Europe constituent has surged wider in five-year CDS amid reports of a buy-out approach

Sandalwood funds of credit funds outperform in February
Credit funds of funds came out on top in February, a month characterised by the sell off in US treasuries

We say it: Creditflux salutes women in credit
The credit industry is blessed with many strong women and for this issue of Creditflux we’re exclusively hearing their voices across our news, analysis and columns

Options investors look to medium-term market normalisation
Credit index options trading has been heating up, with investors looking to take views on future market volatility well beyond the customary three-month horizon as Europe and the US grapple to keep a lid on rates.

"Watch the IG credit curve — we may see steepening of IG 5s10s and flattening of 10s30s"
Stimulus measures are supporting short tenors, and pension demand for 30-year paper is strong, so 10-year IG credit may have few buyers

Single names make big gains as indices dither
Single name CDS in the US and Europe have strongly outperformed from the start of the week, rallying sharply and across most of the credit universe despite direcctionless trading for indices