FICC Focus

In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast on volatility, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu gives a brief overview of the key themes from the volatility markets in 2023 and the outlook ahead.

Returns, diversification and the derisking of bank balance sheets are among contributors to the growth in private credit in recent years. KKR Partner and Global Head of Private Credit Daniel Pietrzak joined Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on the latest episode of Credit Crunch to talk about the market’s growth, asset-based vs. direct lending, the benefits of scale and more. Cred...

JP Morgan’s Head of Municipal Research and Strategy Peter Degroot, Wells Fargo’s Head of Municipal Markets Strategy Vikram Rai and Barclays’ Head of Municipal Research Mikhail Foux join Bloomberg Intelligence’s Eric Kazatsky and co-host Karen Altamirano on this month’s Masters of the Muniverse podcast. The three strategists reflect on the municipal landscape for 2023 and in some cases hope that th...

“The last mile on inflation will be difficult, but the Fed is more optimistic that they can thread the needle,” says Stuart Paul, US and Canadian Economist for Bloomberg Economics. Paul joins FICC Focus host and Chief US Rates Strategist Ira Jersey, and Associate US Rates Strategist Will Hoffman to review the results from the December FOMC Meeting. Paul and the US Economics team anticipated the do...

Noel Hebert, head of Bloomberg Intelligence’s global credit strategy, and Philip Brendel, BI distressed-credit analyst, review the credit markets’ November “melt-up.” Then, they have a wide-ranging discussion with Andy Taylor, head of research at Carronade Capital, on the opportunistic investing process, the power industry’s AI tailwind and financial technologies to “kick the can” (3:45). Finally,...

The inflation vs. recession debate is crucial to the 2024 outlook and the path of central bank rate cuts critical for all markets, including credit. The key question is whether a huge rates rally will be boosting credit or if it needs saving from alternative sources like private credit, which has been booming. In this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhimalingam, chief European cr...

The latest FX Moment podcast focuses on how evolving macroeconomic narratives could shape the US dollar outlook into 2024, with persistent uncertainties warranting pragmatism even if you still believe, as we do, in an underwhelming US economy in a disinflationary context, with associated dollar weakness. Host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence chief G-10 FX strategist, and Stephen Chiu,...

Emerging-market creditors are riding high after another strong November, with returns ranging from 5-6%. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, Cathy Hepworth, managing director and head of EM debt at PGIM Fixed Income, joins host Damian Sassower, BI’s chief EM fixed-income strategist, to deliver her year-ahead outlook on EM interest rates, credit and currencies. With policy-easing under...

Rising volatility, maturity walls and the withdrawal of traditional lenders are driving issuers and investors to capital solutions experts in the private credit world. Alice Cavalier and David Brooks, co-heads of the Capital Solutions Strategy group at Arcmont Capital Management, join Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on this episode of Credit Crunch, part of the FICC Focus podcas...

There’s been heightened volatility in rates and tax-loss harvesting may or may not be the best course of action. On this episode of Masters of the Muniverse, part of the FICC Focus podcast series, Andy Kalotay, a leading authority on quantitative analysis of municipal bonds, joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamirano for an in-depth discussion about the muni market this year...

Rate markets are mispricing early interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, Bloomberg Intelligence interest rate strategists Huw Worthington and Ira Jersey say on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast. They discuss their general views for government debt issuance, which part of the investor base may buy the new debt and central bank policy outlooks. Wo...

Economic and monetary policy uncertainty have been among the few constants confronting credit markets throughout 2023, generating divergent views around return prospects even as high yield markets look set to exit the year largely unscathed. “I haven’t seen more dislocations than I see today,” John McClain, Portfolio Manager High Yield & Corp Credit Strategies at Brandywine Global talks about the...

Emerging market investors have found the Fed more macro-relevant than China, Russia or Israel in recent weeks, as equities are up, oil is down, spreads have tightened and the US dollar has declined since the war erupted in Gaza. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, Win Thin, senior vice president and global head of foreign-exchange strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, joins Bloomberg In...

The inflation vs. recession debate and how that will drive a Fed pause vs. pivot dynamics is casting a shadow over all markets, including credit. The key question for us is whether the tightening of financial conditions will affect credit. In this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhimalingam, chief European credit strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence and Peter Chatwell, head of gl...

Our latest FX Moment podcast focuses on changes in US dollar price action and what can be learned when it comes to finalizing 2024 US dollar prospects. Host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence chief G10 FX strategist, and Jeremy Stretch, Chief International Strategist at CIBC World Markets discuss the dollar-negative narrative that could unfold in 2024, and conclude it won't be an easy r...

Distressed debt has risen sharply in the past two weeks, with the outlook increasingly uncertain heading into year-end. Global Credit Strategy head Noel Hebert, BI distressed credit analyst Philip Brendel and BI bankruptcy litigation analyst Negisa Balluku discuss this and other topics in this edition of the State of Distressed Debt podcast. In other topics, Balluku interviews Electric Capital Gen...

The bar has increasingly moved higher for the Bank of England to hike again in this cycle after leaving rates unchanged for the second consecutive meeting. The market is focused on the timing and extent of 2024 rate cuts. In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Dan Hanson, Senior UK Economist. They discuss the BOE,...

“Our view is that the Fed is done hiking. But the question now turns to how long the Fed maintains rates at this level,” Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence chief US interest rate strategist says. On this Macro Matters episode of the FICC Focus podcast, Jersey reviews recent developments following the November FOMC meeting and the Treasury department’s quarterly refunding announcement. He says Chai...

“There's not enough private credit capital relative to private equity demand,” Armen Panossian, managing director, head of performing credit and incoming co-CEO for Oaktree Capital Management says. Panossian joins Bloomberg Intelligence's Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on this Credit Crunch episode of the podcast FICC Focus podcast series for an in-depth discussion about private-credit growth, the high...

“There’s always an opportunity at the issuer level in leveraged finance,” Bryan Whalen, co-chief investment officer and a generalist portfolio manager for TCW’s fixed income group says. Whalen joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast to discuss positioning for economic turbulence across core-plus and high yield, the value proposition in...

Emerging market risk premia is on the rise, as higher geopolitical risk amplifies the impact from tighter financial conditions. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, JPMorgan Managing Director of EM Fixed Income Strategy Saad Siddiqui joins Chief EM Fixed Income Strategist Damian Sassower to deliver his outlook on emerging market interest rates and foreign exchange. From the selloff in U...

Rates are higher (for longer, if we’re being honest), the curve is pancaking and, once again, fixed-income losses will be headline fodder. However, with every tick higher in benchmark yields, municipals get an opportunity that many in the asset class won’t see in a career. For those investors focused on building an income stream and less on immediate statement marks, munis are becoming the must-ha...

In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Mandy Xu, Head of Derivatives Market Intelligence at CBOE. They address concerns over zero-days-to-expiry options (0DTEs), the typical users and common strategies traded. Other topics include the lack of reactivity of the VIX to market declines and dispersion trading.

“There’s no hope on the [US federal] deficit front,” says Robert Tipp, PGIM’s Chief Investment Strategist and head of global bonds on this 200th edition of the Bloomberg Intelligence FICC Focus Podcast. Tipp joins host Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief US interest rate strategist on this Macro Matters episode to discuss the state of the global rates markets, including Tipp’s view on the n...

High yield had a great year in terms of returns in both US and Europe. In Europe, we saw just two index defaults this year and the proportion of stressed and distressed bonds is under control while its surged in the US. Will 4Q sustain this year's gains, and when do we see a default wave, if any? Listen to Mahesh Bhimalingam, Bloomberg Intelligence's Chief European Credit Strategist, discuss the r...