FICC Focus

Emerging-market central banks have historically followed the Federal Reserve, yet 2025 will be a year of divergence as monetary and fiscal policy responses evolve. Sergey Goncharov, portfolio manager and head of fixed income Americas at Vontobel, joins Bloomberg Intelligence chief emerging market fixed income strategist Damian Sassower to discuss his year-ahead outlook for the EM fixed-income asse...

Ol' Saint FICC is here to stuff your stockings with 2025 market outlooks from all your favorite podcast hosts. Rates, credit, municipals, EM, MBS, currencies, bankruptcy and volatility are all covered, while the team also takes a brief look back at memorable moments of 2024.

“A marriage…chemistry… [and] shared vision” is how Bain Capital partner Angelo Rufino described investments centered around a new asset class of hybrid capital that combines features of debt and equity in a conversation with Bloomberg Intelligence’s Negisa Balluku that took place live at Beard Group’s Distressed Investing Conference. As Head of Special Situations in North America as well as Head o...

The significant tightening in corporate bonds recently has left asset-backed securities looking cheaper, says Rod Chadehumbe, Bloomberg Intelligence’s asset-backed securities strategist. Chadehumbe is joined by host and BI chief US rates strategist Ira Jersey to discuss the state of the US ABS market. The pair dive into the engineering of the various types of products, as well as the general risk-...

Emerging-market assets are likely to swing on US-centric narratives, yet domestic growth and inflation dynamics may be of less concern than in previous cycles. Ricardo Adrogue, head of global sovereign debt and currencies at Barings, joinsDamian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief emerging market fixed income strategist, to discuss the year-ahead outlook for EM credit, rates and foreign excha...

Deteriorating French political headlines are exacerbating the underwhelming French and euro-zone economic narrative, confirming what has become a compellingly euro bearish case into 2025. Still, talk of an existential risk to the currency appears premature, and much of the bad news is arguably priced in. Host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence's chief G-10 FX Strategist, talks to Elliot...

In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu gives an update on how the US bond market volatility has remained elevated to equity and FX volatility. Rates volatility may drift lower with the Fed in no hurry but greater conviction on the neutral rate will be the signal for a more meaningful decline given forecast dispersion of policy...

A slower exit environment for limited partners on the back of elevated rates and inflation has helped drive tremendous growth for the world of NAV lending over the past couple of years. David Philipp, partner in the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group at Crestline Investors, walks through the journey of the asset class with Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on this episode of Credit Cr...

The biggest change to the Treasury market has been algorithmic trading, and the proliferation of high-frequency trading firms (HFTs) and principal trading firms (PTFs), those two are really the main market makers in the inter-dealer broker screens, says Dan Mulholland, senior managing director and head of sales and trading at Crews and Associates. Mulholland is joined by host, and Bloomberg Intell...

A collateralized loan obligation’s (CLO) reinvestment period is among the keys to the success for the asset class in the view of Eagle Point’s Founder and Managing Partner Tom Majewski. He joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on this edition of Credit Crunch to walk through Eagle Points focus on the higher-risk tranches of a CLO structure, with an emphasis on equity. The discus...

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the world of municipal bonds, with predictive analytics, data-driven decision-making and automated portfolio management just some of the ways the technology is transforming public finance. In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Masters of the Muniverse podcast, hosts Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamirano take a break from discussing the nuts and bolts of asse...

Lenders must be “hyper-vigilant” at the whiff of a liability management exercise (LME), as cooperation agreements forged in response by the largest lenders often shut off membership once critical majorities are reached, according to Beach Point Capital’s senior vice president Jordan Sauer. Jordan shared with Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert and Phil Brendel how his initial legal work at Wachte...

With the US election having a clear result and credit markets enjoying a strong run this year, charting the course forward is a challenge. Will a Trump regime slow down Fed cuts and will the ECB continue on its previous easing course, and what will this mean for credit? Will stubborn US yields cause more divergence in credit until 1H25? In this episode of our Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhi...

As expected, the Federal Reserve cut 25 bps in this election week, not a surprise, but Jerome Powell wasn’t as hawkish as might have been expected. Bloomberg Intelligence Chief US Interest-Rate Strategist Ira Jersey is joined by Senior Government Analyst Nathan Dean to discuss the implications of the recent election cycle for the US economy and Treasury markets. They discuss the current state of e...

The cyclically-driven bullish dollar narrative got another boost last week, with President-elect Donald Trump's expected pro-growth stance implying a policy mix weighted more to fiscal stimulus and less to monetary steps, which would help the dollar. It's also better positioned if Trump pursues tariffs. Host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence's Chief G-10 FX Strategist, talks to Dr Anna...

Geopolitical risk remains elevated, yet financial stability doesn’t appear to be a cause for concern as market practitioners turn their attention to year-end. Dr. Jason Wu, IMF assistant director of Monetary & Capital Markets, and Dr. Fabio Natalucci, CEO of the Andersen Institute for Finance & Economics, join Damian Sassower, EM Lens podcast host and Bloomberg Intelligence chief emerging market f...

Cash is not on the sidelines. An investment in a money market fund is an actual investment, says Robert Sabatino, head of Global Liquidity Portfolio Management at UBS Asset Management. Sabatino is joined by host and Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief US rate strategist Ira Jersey and senior US and Canada rate strategy associate Will Hoffman to discuss all things money markets. The trio examine shifts...

Investors have poured $13 billion into high-yield municipal bond funds in recent weeks, a move that underscores the need for credit analysis and active investing, says Alex Petrone, managing director and head of fixed income at Rockefeller Asset Management. In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Masters of the Muniverse podcast, hosts Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamirano talk with Petrone about...

Reports of active management's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Active continues to grow and evolve in ETFs while mutual funds prosper and define benefit plans. Bloomberg Intelligence strategy team uncover active opportunities and glean insights from active managers and those who cover the industry. Listen to Inside Active by Bloomberg Intelligence.

By engaging across multiple sectors of the structured product markets, 400 Capital Management has the flexibility to independently deal with the unique cycles and phases of the various asset classes. Founder and Managing Partner Chris Hentemann joins Noel Hebert and Sam Geier of Bloomberg Intelligence on this episode of Credit Crunch to talk through the process of navigating through those cycles....

Real Estate remains highly localized, a feature which contributes to its noncorrelated and rate-sensitive nature, says Barings Head of US & European Real Estate John Ockerbloom. He joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence’s fixed income strategist, to discuss opportunities and risks facing real estate markets across the globe in this episode of BI’s FICC Focus podcast. Ockerbloom identifies o...

With plenty of private equity dry powder and a growing supply-demand imbalance, direct lending is well positioned to grow, according to Antares Capital Director of Asset Management, Vivek Mathew. Vivek joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on another special edition of Credit Crunch, recorded at the Greenwich Economic Forum. They discuss the benefits of being under the wing of t...

The record growth in municipal bond ETFs, and more specifically actively managed muni ETFs, has led to more innovative alternative strategies. In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Masters of the Muniverse podcast, hosts Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamirano are joined by Harley Bassman, managing partner at Simplify Asset Management. They discuss Simplify’s ETF strategies and how option selling...

It does look like the Fed is nailing this soft landing, so we’re feeling quite positive around where we’re going, says James McCann, Deputy Chief Economist at Abrdn. McCann joins host and senior US and Canada rates strategy associate Will Hoffman to unpack rapidly shifting economic narratives. The pair discuss changes in the the medium-term economic outlook, as well as recent developments regardin...

Polen Capital, with deep roots in the world of growth equity investing, has expanded into the opportunistic high yield bond market, leveraging its acquisition of DDJ Capital in 2021. Polen CEO, Stan Moss, and Head of Credit, Dave Breazzano, join Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on this special edition of Credit Crunch, live from the Greenwich Economic Forum. The conversation dives into the firm’s focus o...