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  

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

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

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?

Guidelines fail to assuage fears over loose reporting standards
The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute’s new hedge fund reporting guidelines come into play next year, but some say they fall short of a much-needed overhaul.

Five-year bespokes movement leads to managed CSO talks
Longer dated synthetic bespoke tranche business could soon receive new impetus, with dealers and investors ramping up talks about re-establishing managed portfolios as a common feature of the CSO market.

Return to quarterly rolls advocated as CSOs hit dry patch
A marked drought of synthetic bespoke activity since July largely results from caution ahead of the September CDS roll, say investors, with some suggesting a return to quarterly rolls for single name contracts should be considered.

‘Ex’ index trades take off as dispersion peaks
A gap is yawning between how the weakest constituents of CDX HY and iTraxx Crossover trade versus their broader portfolios, leading investors to find new ways to hedge and capture idiosyncratic risk.

Credit funds at a glance
A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

Fund performance
A round-up of fund performance

Credit traders' kickstand: Europe ascendant as high yield pipeline returns
The high yield bond primary market grinds back into gear this week just as European credit reaches an extreme point of outperformance over the US, and comes on the back of Europe’s busiest week of investment grade issuance in 18 months

Last of GSO's co-founders departs
It's the end of an era as GSO Capital Partners co-founder Bennett Goodman (the 'G' in GSO) will step down from the firm at the end of the year 

Credit traders’ kickstand: it’s a tough time to go short
Credit derivative indices are ending the week back at very tight levels, with a re-convergence of spreads, with little appetite to bet against presumed central bank dovishness or the upcoming CDS rolls in September

Traders eye high yield CDS b-wics as index rally opens up skew
The rally back of credit derivative indices over recent sessions has caused the skew with their underlying CDS constituents to open up, leading some dealers to posit single name CDS b-wics could be on the way

Credit traders' kickstand: Basis and CDS curves take focus with long wait ahead for central bank direction
With almost a month to wait before the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve hold their next decisive meetings, a bumpier and seemingly directionless road continues in credit markets as investors show little inclination to do anything more adventurous than just hold on tight

Big questions for CDS shorters as Isda protocol countdown begins
With only a month to go until the International Swaps & Derivatives Association rolls out its protocol for narrowly tailored credit events, big net buyers of CDS protection should think hard about both its value and maintaining liquidity, says law firm Kramer Levin

CDX EM undergoes second rules overhaul in as many rolls
The CDX EM index will increase from 15 constituents to 18 at the next roll in September, while criteria for name inclusion and weightings are also to change