Credit shrugs off ECB tapering signal, but strategists warn of IG vulnerability
Credit markets are ending the week on a firm footing after taking in their stride the European Central Bank’s message that it expects to limit asset purchases in the coming quarter. But some parts of the market look more vulnerable than others, say strategists

UK retailers get frosty reception after price hike warning
UK retailers face spread widening pressure on Tuesday against an otherwise flattish backdrop, as supply chain issues stack up prompting concerns of winter stock shortages and higher prices for goods

Rally resumes as investors read US job miss as tapering delay
Credit and equity markets have opted to rally - albeit far from emphatically - after digesting the import of the US missing its August monthly news jobs target by a big margin, which could bring a setback for hawkish central bank voices

High yield compression has one last push after real yields turn negative, says BofA
With real yields for European high yield bonds having turned negative, Bank of America credit strategists see "one last hurrah" for spread compression trades

Taliban takeover likely to have long-term credit impact
Afghanistan’s takeover by the Taliban has barely caused a ripple in credit even regionally, but the power shift has wide-reaching implications that investors have yet to take onboard, say frontier market specialists

Rising stars vie with swooping hawks as Fed deliberates
Rising star companies moving from high yield to investment grade could be a valuable source of returns for credit investors in coming months, say sources

Crossover names drive rally on strong earnings as European traders return
Several high yield borrowers have made strong improvements on Tuesday as the post-Jackson Hole credit market rally has extended from Friday, with European traders returning after their long weekend

Retailer jumps on PE rumours while markets stay rooted in Jackson Hole
UK supermarket retailer Sainsbury's has been a notable mover in credit this week, as the wider market waits tentatively on Friday's Jackson Hole movement in the US and fund outflows signal nervousness about US Federal Reserve policy and escalating turmoil in Afghanistan

Chinese credit makes gains as Europe and US slump on Fed taper fears
Chinese credit spreads on Thursday depicted an island of optimism as global credit and stocks - including its own - slumped against a mounting confluence of concerns

Travel co among underperformers as credit gives up gains
European credit is softening away from its recent tights in what is shaping up to be a fourth week of range-bound trading, with credit strategists identifying valuations as a key obstacle to improvement at the index level

High yield real estate firm pushes tighter on ratings boost
Adler Real Estate credit spreads are driving ever tighter, with positive signals from rating agency S&P adding to the company’s strong bull run, despite softening in the wider high yield market

German real estate firm on bull run as rest of high yield treads water
Adler Real Estate has extended its spread tightening run on Monday morning, making it one of the biggest improvers of the past week in an otherwise flattish high yield credit market

China teaches tough lessons to foreign investors
China’s regulatory crackdown on some of its fastest-growing industries created shockwaves that have reverberated widely, dragging on US and European credit at the end of July.

US plays catch up with Europe as spreads reconverge
There has been a slight softening of European credit on Tuesday, even as stocks hold onto their record highs and US credit spreads take their chance to close the gap after recent underperformance

Rising stars will fuel double B boom, says BofA
A rising star cycle is underway and adds to a bullish outlook for double B credits with company results pointing to an ‘epic V-shaped recovery’ in high yield revenues and earnings, say Bank of America credit strategists

Triple Bs gain momentum as IG buyers pick best spots
The absolute tightness of credit spreads has led many to lament their chances of delivering strong returns in 2021, while stressing the need to move down either the quality or duration curve. But even within investment grade, European and US managers are still finding pockets of value

Publishing boost for French firm but China sours wider market
Lagardere is a notable positive outlier in another off day for the credit market, after China turmoil rocked stocks and sent spreads wider

Credit Rendezvous: And breathe...
The unanimous verdict is that credit spreads will be moving wider – they have to. But the difficulty credit fund managers face is predicting when the next sell-off comes and how sharp it will be. In the Q3 instalment of Creditflux’s Credit Rendezvous, the over-riding message from portfolio managers is that there’s little point in taking on too much risk. The report features the views of prominent credit figures including Paul Horvath (Orchard), Himani Trivedi (Nuveen), Ronnie Jaber (Onex), Graham Rainbow (Alcentra) and Michelle Russell-Dowe (Schroders). The report looks at 14 segments of the market including CLOs, direct lending, leveraged loans, distressed debt and credit derivatives.  

Credit grind pushes back volatility bets
With recent weeks having all-but crushed volatility from the market, uncertainty about the timing of future risk triggers is leading credit options traders to spurn traditional horizons to focus on longer-dated expiries

Credit slumbers in departure lounge as airline equities take off
Credit and equity markets have been in a balancing act on Tuesday between the positive and negative implications of surging oil prices and Germany opting to relax travel restrictions

Chicken supplier takes courage from earnings improvement
Boparan, one of the riskiest companies in the European high yield credit market, is among the biggest movers in bonds and CDS on Wednesday, as the market resumes its rally to the tightest prints of the year

Triple Bs in the firing line as Fed turns hawkish, says BofA
Triple B and long duration credit are likely to be casualties of tightening central bank policy, Bank of America strategists have warned. But high yield and cyclical investment grade sectors could fare better

Credit grind makes it five days out of five in bullish week
Credit markets are heading into the weekend on a fifth straight day of improving spreads, amid signs of returning economic confidence and appetite to invest in the asset class

French equipment rental firm gets big lift on Q1 results
Loxam, one of the widest trading names in the iTraxx Crossover universe, is leading index constituent tighteners on Wednesday after posting first quarter results showing improvement in revenue and ebidta

Financials and high yield outperform as rally gathers momentum
Credit spreads are enjoying a second day of improvement to regain some of the ground they lost last week, with Italian banks, commodity traders and higher yielding borrowers among outperformers in a broad rally of both indices and single name borrowers