FICC Focus

“Everyone we compete with, other CEOs of asset managers, credit asset managers that I talk to, are hyper-focused on making sure that there's not another cockroach running around in their portfolio,” says Steve Ketchum, CEO and founder of Sound Point Capital, when reflecting on the potential positive side effects of recent high-visibility credit events. Ketchum joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel H...

Credit is tight, though it’s fared better in 2025 than rates and equities through many crises across the globe — France, tariffs, Fed concerns and Britain’s doubtful fiscal health. In this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhimalingam, Bloomberg Intelligence’s global head of credit strategy, showcases the Credit Clubs in Milan, Madrid and (upcoming) in London. He discusses these cr...

“The uptake among public companies actually is the biggest evolution in the field, because public companies are beginning to recognize the value of this asset class,” says Ranesh Ramanathan, partner and co-head of the Global Capital Solutions Practice for Akin, discussing capital solutions as a financing alternative. Ramanathan joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert on this episode of the Cred...

“It may or may not be good ... or binding precedent, but I think ConvergeOne will actually make the holdout risk worse because the minority lenders will now point to it and say ‘Sorry pal, you can’t jam this down my throat in court, so you’re not jamming it down my throat out of court either,’” says Houlihan Lokey Managing Director Tuck Hardie. He joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert and Phi...

Secular AI themes, product development in the volatility ecosystem and fault lines in the economy, as well as navigating volatility in digital assets, are among the key discussion points in this edition of the All Options Considered, featuring part II of the recording of the Bloomberg Volatility Forum 2025 held in NYC on Oct. 28. It starts with the fireside chat on digital assets by Randy Little, ...

The UK fiscal predicament will likely keep sterling under pressure heading into the Nov. 26 budget. The view is starting to look crowded, and recent moves appear stretched, but any upside is set to be contained until the fiscal path clears. For now, sterling bulls might have to settle for some consolidation ahead of the budget and/or renewed dollar weakness, which isn’t in sight yet. In this episo...

This edition of All Options Considered is the recording of part of the Bloomberg Volatility Forum 2025 held in NYC on October 28th. It starts with the keynote speech by BI’s Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu on macro and volatility across markets, followed by the discussion from the first panel on the derivatives market by Benn Eifert, Managing Partner, co-CIO Head of Multi-Strateg...

“Manufacturing assets, the availability of them, have been chronically undersupplied for decades,” says Teddy Kaplan, CEO of Net Lease for New Mountain Capital, when making the investment case for the sector within a net-lease portfolio. Kaplan joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert on this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast to discuss sale-leasebacks, the evolution of the marketplace and th...

Investor sentiment is improving across commercial real estate as liquidity improves, cash flows stabilize and capitalization rates compress. Jimmy Hinton, chief revenue officer for US capital markets at Newmark Group, joins BI chief fixed income strategist, Damian Sassower, to discuss his firm’s approach to price discovery, leverage and deal flow. Hinton and Sassower discuss the role of leasing ve...

I don’t think that the next Fed chair does much to change my expectations for the terminal rate this cycle, says Stuart Paul, US & Canada Economist for Bloomberg Economics. Paul is joined by BI chief US rates strategist Ira Jersey and senior US & Canada rates-strategy associate Will Hoffman to discuss takeaways from the recent Federal Reserve, and Bank of Canada meetings. The trio discuss the outl...

“Where your capital is going to create value, that’s the area we want to focus on the most. So today we see a lot of that in telecom broadly defined data-center digital-infrastructure financing,” says John Cocke, Partner and Deputy Chief Investment Officer of credit for alternative asset management firm Corbin Capital Partners, discussing opportunities in the credit markets. Cocke joins Bloomberg...

Renewed US-China trade tensions, the impact of tariffs on rare-earth minerals and the growing uncertainty facing markets are among the topics discussed in this episode of Macro Matters, part of Bloomberg Intelligence’s FICC Focus series. Host Ira Jersey, BI’s chief interest rate strategist, speaks with Ben Emons, founder and CIO of Fed Watch Advisors, about how these developments could influence i...

“If I were a lender, I would sign a coop with everyone — or mostly everyone — the day after the loan closes, and then just let it sit there.” That’s Douglas Mintz’s solution to the damaging frenzy that often erupts when word spreads that creditors are organizing ahead of a potential liability management exercise. In a conversation with Bloomberg Intelligence’s Negisa Balluku, Mintz, who is a partn...

Gold isn’t showing signs of true dollar debasement, if it were, there would be an even more severe market reaction, says Merk Investments co-founder and CIO Axel Merk on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast series. Merk joins host and Bloomberg Intelligence Head of US Rates Strategy Ira Jersey to discuss the reason gold has been climbing rapidly in recent weeks. Merk thinks the gol...

Credit and high yield had a good 2025, despite tariffs and rates volatility as spreads held ground. Will 4Q sustain this resilience and why? Mahesh Bhimalingam, Bloomberg Intelligence global head of credit strategy, discusses the results of the BI 4Q25 High Yield Investor Survey, along with the market outlook, with Alexis Renault, global head of high yield at Oddo BHF. They discuss the French fisc...

There are some interesting developments in equity volatility which have trading implications from the pronounced spread between VIX and SPX realized volatility, low stock correlation, rise of single stock volatility and the shape of the VIX curve. In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Chris Murphy, Co-Head Derivat...

Asset-backed securities issuance remains slightly behind the same period in 2024, even with Tricolor-related angst continuing, notes Bloomberg Intelligence ABS Strategist Rod Chadehumbe on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast series. Chadehumbe and Bloomberg Intelligence Head of US Rates Strategy Ira Jersey discuss Tricolor’s effect on the ABS market, how the consumer is driving is...

The unexpected election of the LDP’s Sanae Takaichi and her known bias for expansionary fiscal policies is questioning the yen’s bull case and the currency’s sharp and broad selloff since the Oct. 4 result is a taste of what could come. For now, we don’t have enough information to assess how or when fiscal stimulus will eventually unfold, so it’s premature to call a sustainably bearish view until...

Institutional appetite for high-beta asset classes continues to endure yet traditional safe havens are not behaving as they should. Fabio Natalucci, CEO of the Andersen Institute for Finance & Economics, joins Bloomberg Intelligence Chief Emerging Market Fixed Income Strategist Damian Sassower to discuss investor positioning and risk sentiment ahead of the World Bank and International Monetary Fun...

The Federal Reserve moving away from the federal funds rate as the policy target would be welcome, said Meghan Swiber, senior US rates strategist at Bank of America Securities on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast series. Swiber and Bloomberg Intelligence Head of US Rates Strategy Ira Jersey also discuss BofA’s views on the yield curve, Treasury issuance and Federal Reserve polic...

“Being able to underwrite a consumer, being able to offer that product to that consumer and then being able to touch that consumer is very, very important,” says Michael Nierenberg, CEO of Rithm Capital, discussing the company's focus on asset classes where it has an edge. Nierenberg joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert and Erica Adelberg on this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast to talk...

Mortgage-backed securities may benefit from renewed bank demand as Fed easing improves net interest margins, according to Bloomberg Intelligence mortgage strategist Erica Adelberg. On this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast, she joins host Ira Jersey, BI’s chief US interest-rate strategist, to discuss mortgage issuance, market structure, the role of cash buyers in housing and how the...

Digital art has been around for decades but blockchain technology provides provenance. In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI chief global derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Nicole Sales Giles, Director of Digital Art at Christie's to discuss the volatility of the NFT art market, AI generated art and emerging artists to watch.

The official line is that QT has added 15-25 bps on 10-year gilts, but it’s probably adding quite a bit more than that, says Huw Worthington, chief European rates strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, who sees signs that central banks are addressing that now. In this episode of the FICC Focus podcast, Worthington is joined by BI chief US rates strategist Ira Jersey and senior US & Canada rates-str...

“I think it’s very difficult to predict a world where you might go back to zero interest rates. And so that all portends that there’s likely to be an uptick in default rates,” says Jeff Diehl, managing partner and head of investments at Adams Street, discussing potential challenges awaiting direct lenders after the strong growth of the asset class. Diehl joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert ...