Matalan becomes first Crossover index default in over year
Matalan, the UK based retailer, is the first default to hit the on-the-run series of Europe's iTraxx Crossover index, with the Determinations Committee ruling it has triggered a bankruptcy credit event

CSOs start printing again with new money ready to invest
The synthetic bespoke market is putting behind it the turmoil of recent months, with a pipeline of new CSO transactions starting to price and a swelling supply of new money lining up to invest.

Flat Rock eyes interval fund conversion for private BDC
Flat Rock Capital Corporation, a private business development company managed by Flat Rock Global, has filed to convert to an interval fund, according to US regulatory filings. The BDC will merge into a new entity, subject to shareholder approval

Fund performance: Credit funds post double-digit gains
June returns have once again been led by CLO funds, as seven out of the top 10 belong to our CLOs category.

Don’t be a hero: managers opt to go market-neutral
There’s yet more volatility in store later this year — that’s the consensus according to credit portfolio managers that have spoken to Creditflux. What they are unsure about is the scale and direction of this movement, which is leading them to prune their portfolios with an emphasis on market-neutral tactics

New funds move in as tranche trades take off
Synthetic structured credit funds are proving popular with investors amid a spike in index tranche trading

Banks and high yield corps lead charge as results prompt European rally
High yield corporate credit is today's outperforming part of the market as European credit rallies back from its recent wides, as the latest round of earnings proves stronger than many had expected

US and Europe diverge as loan trading bands emerge on the continent
Europe and the US are on different courses with credit indices having drifted apart over the past month, say trading sources. Europe is expected to suffer fewer defaults to the extent that "it’s getting quite difficult for borrowers to default”, as one source put it. But the US has "higher growth potential due to its more dynamic economy"

Lupus Alpha CLO funds enter April top 10 after cutting triple B exposure in January
Lupus Alpha CLO High Grade Invest Fund, a Ucits fund managed by Lupus Alpha, topped the Creditflux April hedge fund rankings with 12.05% returns. The Frankfurt-based manager also has two other funds in the top 10 rankings: Lupus Alpha CLO High Quality Invest (9.88%) and Lupus Alpha CLO Opportunity Notes I (8.94%)

Frontier CDS auction pays less than bonds had indicated
A credit event auction to settle Frontier Communications CDS produced a slightly better result than expected for protection sellers

Correction: Orchard Liquid Credit Fund performance
In the May issue of the Creditflux magazine we incorrectly stated in our performance tables the year-to-date return for Orchard Liquid Credit Fund, which is up 10.66%

CLOs hold $189.3 million of J Crew as coronavirus pushes firm into bankruptcy
12 CLO managers hold $189.3 million debt of US retailer and household name J Crew (parent company Chino Holdings), which filed for Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Monday

Fed expands Main Street direct lending scheme but it's unlikely to help CLOs
The US Federal Reserve Board has expanded the scope of its Main Street Lending Programme following more than 2,200 letters of feedback. Under the third loan facility, lenders will hold 15% of the loan to borrowers with greater leverage

Europcar on the move with Spanish and shareholder support
Europcar Mobility Group is among the biggest movers today in bonds and CDS, after the French car rental company obtained Spanish government support and shareholder Eurozeo confirmed it would take part in a financing plan

DC accepts Ecuador credit event question
The Americas Determinations Committee has agreed to rule on whether Ecuador has triggered a restructuring credit event

Boston pension seeks distressed debt manager
Boston Retirement System is reissuing its private debt manager search and soliciting proposals from firms to manage a distressed debt mandate 

Bain uses rights offerings as unusual route to raise cash for BDC
Bain Speciality Finance is looking to raise additional capital through a rights offering to “further strengthen its balance sheet” and “provide additional flexibility to support existing portfolio companies over the coming months”, chief executive officer Michael Ewald said in an open letter to shareholders on Monday

Fair Oaks suspends dividends from listed CLO fund citing covid-19 uncertainty
Fair Oaks Capital has suspended dividends on its listed CLO fund “in light of the ongoing uncertainty in economies and markets caused by covid-19 pandemic”, according to an update to investors in the $315 million fund

Churchill collects $2 billion for second unlevered US direct lending fund
Churchill Asset Management has held a $2 billion final close on its second US direct lending fund, doubling its original $1 billion target size

Huge CDS gap yawns between US and Europe, despite Fed intervention
Having crossed paths in a rare moment of compression on Monday, iTraxx Europe and its US counterpart CDX IG have since undergone one of their biggest moments of dislocation since the global financial crisis, as an emergency rate cut by the Federal Reserve failed to comfort investors about the impact of the coronavirus on the US economy

CLOs show coronavirus resistance even as bonds and loans suffer
CLO managers are - so far - looking defensively positioned in relation to the coronavirus outbreak, with only two of the five largest portfolio sectors listed as very negative in latest Wells Fargo research. But investor fears have all but closed the loan and bond primary pipeline, while lower rates signalled by the US Federal Reserve could spell a fall in leveraged loan and CLO demand

Europe rallies hard after CDX IG closes tighter for first time since June
Volatility in credit remains heightened due to the coronavirus outbreak, but movement has become two-way, with European CDS indices surging tighter today after US index CDX IG ended yesterday’s session tighter than iTraxx Europe for the first time in nine months

Credit traders’ kickstand: a year comes undone in a week as world faces coronavirus moment of truth
As the coronavirus outbreak reaches a 'decisive point', according to the World Health Organisation, one of most volatile weeks in recent memory has hauled credit spreads from their post-financial crisis tights to much wider levels last seen in the first half of 2019 and, in the case of emerging markets, more than a year ago.

Hadrian Wall tumbles as board calls for wind down of direct lending fund
Hadrian’s Wall Secured Investments' board of directors has decided that a wind down of the fund with cash returned to shareholders would be in the best interest of shareholders, according to a company update