

FICC Focus
Bloomberg Intelligence
FICC Focus offers the latest market views on interest rates, corporate bonds, emerging market debt, commodities, and currencies by Bloomberg Intelligence analysts.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 14, 2024 • 1h 30min
Matt Doheny on Investing, Yellow, and FTX: State of Distressed Debt
Matt Doheny, founder of North Country Capital and expert in turnaround strategies, shares insights on high-profile bankruptcies like Yellow Corp and FTX. He discusses the complexities of restructuring, detailing the fierce competition between lenders and the unique auction process at Yellow. Cohost Nagisa Balluku adds her expertise on the latest bankruptcy developments, including issues surrounding Red Lobster and WeWork. Their engaging conversation uncovers the intricacies of distressed debt and the evolving landscape of crisis management.

Jun 13, 2024 • 30min
G3+ Central Bank, Currency, Interest Rate Outlook: Macro Matters
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the Fed are conflicted on economic data, says Morgan Stanley’s Global Head of Marco Strategy Matt Hornbach in this edition of the Bloomberg Intelligence FICC Focus Podcast. Hornbach joins host and BI Chief US Interest Rate Strategist Ira Jersey to discuss the G3+ central bank, currency and interest-rate outlook. Though the totality of recent US economic data has been very confusing, Hornbach thinks a clear trend will soon emerge. The Morgan Stanley base case is for the Fed to start cutting rates in September and do so at each meeting until mid-2025 before stopping. Such an outcome would cause the 10-year Treasury to rally to 3.75%, he said.

Jun 11, 2024 • 38min
Can Start of Rate Cuts Keep Credit Spreads Tight?: Credit Crunch
Credit markets had a strong nine months of rally, particularly in spreads, although there were yield blips. As the environment changes with rate cuts, led by the ECB, are credit spreads too tight, despite low defaults? Is the rally justified on expected rate cuts for the rest of 2024? In this episode of our Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhimalingam, Chief European Credit Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, and Axel Potthof, Head of High Yield at Fisch Asset Management, discuss the state of credit after the first ECB cut and the long rally.They discuss relative value across junk, high grade and loans, fund flows, defaults, rate cuts and yield-curve views in detail. They also address CLOs and their support for loans, while on private credit, they ask if it is taking anything away from public markets.

Jun 7, 2024 • 19min
US Election Pricing, Income Funds: All Options Considered
In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Matthew Tym, Head of Equity Derivatives Trading at Cantor Fitzgerald. Discussion includes the US presidential election and impact of yield enhancement using options on index volatility.

Jun 5, 2024 • 16min
BoC, Loonie Give Dollar-Bears a Plan B Till Fed Turns: FX Moment
The Bank of Canada's 25-bp June rate cut and statement bolster the view that dollar bears tired of waiting for the Fed could retain the loonie-bear view until a more-dovish US move unfolds, according to the latest FX Moment podcast. Host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence's chief G-10 FX strategist, talks to Stuart Paul, US and Canada economist at Bloomberg Economics, about the BoC and Fed near-term dynamics and currency implications.Canada's more-advanced economic cycle vs. the US justifies the early policy action from the BoC and validates the yield-driven loonie bearish case against the US dollar, euro and sterling. Given the Canadian-US dollar proxy qualities, these views will most likely hold when euro-dollar and/or sterling-dollar bulls return.

May 30, 2024 • 20min
Global Economic Decoupling With MKP’s McMahon: Macro Matters
“You’ve come off a period of 15-plus years of a zero interest-rate policy that has allowed politicians to believe that you can spend money at no cost,” says Patrick McMahon, co-founder and CIO of MKP Capital Management, “And we continue to do that, but now in a tremendously different interest-rate environment.” In this podcast, McMahon is joined by podcast host and Bloomberg Intelligence’s Chief US Rates Strategist Ira Jersey and Associate US Rates Strategist Will Hoffman. The trio discuss the state of the US economy and potential paths forward for monetary policy. They also dive into shifts in global economic conditions and the likelihood of interest-rate correlations breaking down as monetary-policy cycles begin to diverge.

May 28, 2024 • 50min
Technological Advancement in Muni SMAs: Masters of the Muniverse
Nisha Patel, a seasoned portfolio manager at Parametric specializing in tax-advantaged bond strategies, joins the hosts for an engaging discussion. They explore the municipal bond market's current landscape, emphasizing the impact of rising yields and political uncertainties due to the upcoming elections. Nisha sheds light on how technology is reshaping investment strategies, enhancing efficiency in managing separately managed accounts (SMAs). The conversation also touches on navigating tax implications and optimizing after-tax returns in a fluctuating market.

May 24, 2024 • 59min
17Capital's de Selancy on NAV Lending Expansion: Credit Crunch
NAV finance has been at the forefront of innovation in private credit markets, seeing tremendous growth since the start of the pandemic, when private equity funds began turning to alternative sources of funding. Pierre-Antoine de Selancy, co-founder and managing partner at 17Capital, joins Bloomberg Intelligence's Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on Credit Crunch to walk through how he's seen the evolution of the space. The conversation touches on the importance of fund-manager track records, use of proceeds, 17Capital's partnership with Oaktree, and a variety of other topics. Credit Crunch is part of the FICC Focus podcast series.

May 17, 2024 • 24min
Rabobank’s Lawrence on Investing in a ‘New’ Old World: EM Lens
Geopolitical uncertainty is causing many developed and emerging market governments to invoke protectionist measures, and this new world order looks similar to the one that predated globalization. In this month’s episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, Cooperatieve Rabobank Cross-Asset Strategist Christian Lawrence joins BI Chief EM Fixed-Income Strategist Damian Sassower to share his views on monetary policy, foreign-exchange carry, global growth and real-yield differentials. They also discuss central bank divergence, foreign positioning, inflation dynamics and option volatility.This podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.

May 16, 2024 • 35min
PIMCO’s Jerome Schneider on Money-Market Dynamics: Macro Matters
Stickier inflation is here to say, and we probably aren’t returning to 2% in the near term, says Jerome Schneider, managing director and leader of short-term portfolio management and funding at PIMCO. Schneider is joined by host and Bloomberg Intelligence Chief US Interest Rate Strategist Ira Jersey and Associate US Interest Rate Strategist Will Hoffman to discuss the state of short-term liquidity and money markets. The trio examine long- and short-term evolutions of the market, portfolio composition and the regulatory environment. They also wade into asset allocation, investor behavior and Federal Reserve policy.


