FICC Focus

“In the past, I think a lot of times [sponsors] just handed the keys over if they were hopelessly insolvent,” industry veteran David Trucano says. “Now [the market has] basically written, through credit agreements, a call to the equity such that they can extract additional value through the capital structure and preserve value for themselves. And as a fiduciary, they’re required to do it.” Bloombe...

Stephen Douglass, chief economist and a member of NISA Investment Advisors’ global investment committee, explains why he still sees the US economy as broadly consistent with a soft-landing path once the current oil shock fades, even though the war has complicated the timing of Fed rate cuts. He joined Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief US interest-rate strategist on this edition of Macro M...

The UK is at the forefront of market headlines amid a political crisis and record gilt yields. In this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhimalingam, Bloomberg Intelligence’s global head of credit strategy, discusses how credit remains a safe haven in every crisis with Boris Okuliar, chief strategy officer and head of global diversified credit at Corinthia Global Management. They d...

In this episode of FX Moment, Bloomberg Intelligence Chief FX Strategist Audrey Childe-Freeman and Jordan Rochester, head of FICC strategy for EMEA at Mizuho Bank, discuss how the evolving UK political dynamics leave sterling exposed in the near term via the potential revival of a negative fiscal premium. Jordan and Audrey also revisit the dollar-yen outlook following the recent Ministry of Financ...

Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief US interest-rate strategist Ira Jersey lays out his latest views on the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury market in this solo Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast. Jersey discusses why he expects the Fed to remain on hold for at least the next several months, even after Jay Powell’s departure and Kevin Warsh’s expected arrival as chair. He examines the s...

“We always want to be big enough in any given strategy that we’re relevant to the market, relevant to our counterparties,” says Grant Nachman, Shorecliff Asset Management’s CIO and CEO. “But we always want to try to be nimble enough that we don’t have to own everything.” Nachman joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert on this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast to discuss Shorecliff’s “full-cy...

In this edition of All Options Considered, BI’s Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu discusses cross-asset volatility, including how markets were largely driven by the same oil-related macro shock, with equities marked by sharp rallies and slower pullbacks. He also covers this week’s Japanese FX intervention and the rates outlook after key policy decisions.

A changing Federal Reserve, tight credit spreads and renewed opportunities in securitized markets are reshaping the fixed-income outlook. Russ Brownback, BlackRock’s deputy CIO of global fixed income and manager of the Strategic Income Opportunities Fund, joins Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence chief US interest-rate strategist on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast. Brownback di...

Despite the war-induced increase in macroeconomic uncertainty, investors are returning to emerging market fixed income as the universe of investible alpha opportunities continues to expand. Arif Joshi, senior managing director and EM fixed income portfolio manager at Bramshill Investments, joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief EM fixed income strategist, to assess the structural ba...

New York’s shifting political environment has significant implications for the city’s finances and municipal bond portfolios. In this episode of the Masters of the Muniverse podcast, Pat Luby, head of municipal research and senior municipal strategist at CreditSights, joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Matthew Gastall, head of municipal research and strategy, and BI senior associate Karen Altamirano....

Funding markets have remained remarkably calm even as investors continue to debate risks around Federal Reserve balance-sheet policy and the outlook for repo. Jerome Schneider, managing director at Pimco and head of short-term portfolio management and funding, joins Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence chief US interest-rate strategist, and Will Hoffman, BI US and Canadian rates strategist, on this...

Global credit risk has been repriced wider and tighter by the Iran war and strategic insights are essential for outperformance. In this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast, Mahesh Bhimalingam, Bloomberg Intelligence’s global head of credit strategy, hosts BI’s global credit strategy team to highlight worldwide research, data and views. Tim Tan and Jason Lee (Asia), Basel Al-Waqayan (Middle East),...

Creditors are returning to emerging market fixed income as supply-demand technicals are supportive, rating momentum is positive and real-yield differentials are wide. Thys Louw, emerging market fixed income portfolio manager at Ninety One, joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief EM fixed income strategist, to discuss alpha potential in EM hard- and local-currency debt. Louw and Sasso...

“The market reaction has been very measured. Spreads have clearly moved in response to changes in fiscal outlooks and ratings,” says Patrick Drum, Saturna Capital’s fixed-income lead and portfolio manager, discussing the impact of current events in the Middle East on sukuk and the Islamic finance market. It’s “not so much the conflict itself. Tension is really back to the basics of balance sheet.”...

Credit and high yield had first quarter losses due to the Iran war impact, especially on rates. Will 2Q revert those losses, and why? Mahesh Bhimalingam, Bloomberg Intelligence global head of credit strategy, discusses the results of the BI 2Q26 Investor Survey and the market outlook with Manuel Schoeffler, Head of High Yield at Deka Investment GmbH. They discuss valuations and central bank action...

“Troubled businesses don’t turn around on a dime. They took years to get messed up. They got worse through the restructuring when they were capital-starved,” observed Jon F. Weber, founder of Jon F Weber & Co. “A lender should not have the expectation that, upon pouring in liquidity and improving the capital structure, they’re going to immediately improve. We’re in the reality business... We have...

The Federal Reserve still has an easing bias and may lower rates another 50 bps this year, says Vincent Reinhart, chief economist for BNY Investments, on this edition of Macro Matters in the FICC Focus podcast series. Reinhart joins host Ira Jersey, chief US interest rate strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence, to discuss BNY Investments’ view on the economy and central bank actions as uncertainty...

The US-Iran ceasefire and associated relief in risk aversion and pullback in oil prices may be a first step out of the sterling-dollar bear cycle of the past few weeks. There will be cyclical relief as the market adjusts back to less hawkish Bank of England rate expectations, which were hurting the pound via the stagflation narrative. Structural relief may also emerge, as the expected monetary-fis...

Sovereign balance sheets should come under renewed pressure as the war-induced oil shock forces EM governments to take extraordinary measures aimed at actively defending their domestic economies. Fabio Natalucci, CEO of the Andersen Institute for Finance & Economics, joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief EM fixed income strategist, to assess the risks facing EM creditors as the war...

Wider spreads and credit enhancement causing upgrades in auto asset-backed securities reduces the sector’s risk against similarly rated and maturity corporate debt, says Rod Chadehumbe, Bloomberg Intelligence ABS Strategist. Chadehumbe joins host Ira Jersey, BI’s US Rates Strategist to discuss the findings from the first ABS Primer on available on the terminal. Though spreads are tight compared to...

Cross-asset markets are under stress given the bi-modal risks of de-escalation vs. prolonged conflict. This edition of All Options Considered podcast discusses the probability distribution around the outcomes of the Iran war and markets. BI’s Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Edward Fishman, author of Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare and Senio...

“Technicals for high yield post-Covid have been very strong, with pretty limited net new supply, minimal downgrades, strong demand given elevated base rates and pretty reasonable credit spread,” says John McClain, Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s global co-head of High Yield and Bank Loans. “We’re seeing some net new supply from areas like data-center debt,” and “large LBO bonds that are coming ov...

“The thesis of AI is very big. It’s probably one of the largest events in at least my lifetime,” says Monroe President Zia Uddin, discussing the creditor concerns about how AI may affect borrowers. “But what ends up happening is everyone kind of throws the baby out with the bathwater.” Uddin joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert on the latest episode of Credit Crunch to talk about why not all...

The atmosphere around the Federal Reserve has evolved as Chair Jerome Powell has grown more comfortable in press conferences, even amid legal and political pressure. Michael McKee, Bloomberg News international economics and policy correspondent, joins Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence chief US interest-rate strategist, and Will Hoffman, BI US and Canadian rates strategist, on this Macro Matters e...

“What’s different in private credit versus large broadly syndicated loans is in private credit they’re very focused on the ability to incur additional debt, the ability to distribute assets or distribute money through dividends or otherwise,” says Stephen Boyko, partner and co-founder of Proskauer’s Private Credit Group. “They’re also incredibly concerned about the flexibility of the documents.” B...