Junk Spreads Are Too Tight, Says Loomis; iHeart Focus

Credit investors aren’t getting enough compensation for corporate credit risk, says Matthew Eagan, a portfolio manager and head of the full discretion team at Loomis Sayles & Co. “Judging from the spread levels, I think they’ve gone a bit too far,” Eagan tells Bloomberg News’ Lisa Lee and James Crombie and Bloomberg Intelligence’s Stephen Flynn in the latest Credit Edge podcast. He sees investment grade debt as an opportunity, given decent corporate earnings and the fact that debt costs are mostly locked in. Loomis likes BBB rated debt, as well as bonds issued by banks and media companies. Eagan also says ongoing concern about commercial real estate risk is not likely to hurt major banks, and should remain contained to smaller institutions. Also in this episode, BI’s Flynn analyzes improving credit prospects at Paramount Global and predicts a US election boost for iHeartMedia. 

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