FICC Focus

High yield had a great 4Q rally in rates and spreads, which filtered into 1Q gains as defaults stayed low. In Europe, the index default rate stands at 0.95% and the proportion of stressed and distressed bonds has come down, while it's higher in the US. Will 2Q sustain the gains, and why? Listen to Mahesh Bhimalingam, Bloomberg Intelligence's Chief European Credit Strategist, discuss the results of the 2Q24 High Yield Survey with Fiona Hagdrup, Head of Leveraged Finance Funds and PM at M&G Investments, along with market outlook and trends in a Q&A format.They discuss our 2Q investor survey publication, covering investor positioning, sentiment, key return drivers, default and supply forecasts and relative-value opinions by geography, rating and sector in detail. They also discuss how leveraged loan prospects compare with junk.

Julia Winters, a Partner in Katten's commercial litigation practice, brings her expertise in complex bankruptcy matters to the discussion. She highlights the evolving 'consensus model' where independent directors collaborate with unsecured committees. Key topics include the critical role of examiners during financial turmoil, independence validation for directors, and the impact of recent court rulings on investigations. Winters also addresses the significance of strong indenture trustees for note holders and the rising importance of proactive measures in distressed situations.

The challenges of unilateral FX intervention by the Bank of Japan may mean that a confirmed dovish Fed adjustment and/or a step-up in the BOJ tightening cycle remain the best path to address the cost-of-carry yen conundrum and take dollar-yen lower in the process, according to the latest FX Moment podcast. Host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence's chief G-10 FX strategist, talks to Chris Gaffney, World Markets president at EverBank, about whether it could be time to rejoin the dollar-bearish camp, with a focus on dollar-yen amid BOJ intervention considerations.However, Fed rate cuts and/or aggressive BOJ rate hikes aren't on the agenda just yet: For now, the best case scenario for dollar-yen bears may be a 155-160 range.

Rob Dafforn, Chief Investment Officer at Polus Capital Management, discusses special situations in a slowing growth environment, targeting cyclical losers, secular losers, and frauds. He also covers creditor-on-creditor violence, management process for long-short portfolios, and more.

In this edition of All Options Considered, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Jennifer Welch, Chief Geo-economics Analyst. They focus on geopolitics and market volatility, with topics including the conflicts in the Middle East, oil politics and the US election.

Chairman Jerome Powell had opportunities at the May FOMC meeting to put interest rate hikes back on the table and surprisingly did not, says Ira Jersey, host and Chief US Interest Rate Strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence. On this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast, Jersey is joined by associate US Interest Rate Strategist Will Hoffman to discuss the key takeaways from both the Federal Reserve and US Treasury Department’s May 1 policy announcements. The pair unpack the implications of the announced taper to the pace of Fed balance-sheet runoff, as well as deficit and Treasury-issuance trends over the coming months.

Loose financial conditions are helping to alleviate short-term stability concerns, yet medium-term vulnerabilities are rising as the result of less-optimistic monetary policy expectations. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, Fabio Natalucci, deputy director of monetary and capital markets at the IMF, and Jason Wu, head of the IMF’s Global Markets division, join Bloomberg Intelligence Chief EM Fixed Income Strategist Damian Sassower to share their views on underlying asset valuations amid the recent surge in financial market volatility. Natalucci, Wu and Sassower discuss global monetary policy, central bank divergence, foreign exchange carry, Chinese shadow banks and US private credit.

BI's Erica Adelberg and Will Hoffman discuss MBS market trends, housing market performance, and the implications of continued MBS runoff from the Fed's balance sheet. They delve into structural demand implications, rising housing prices, refinancing trends, and the evaluation of higher mortgage coupons.

Raphael Thuin from Tikehau Capital discusses rate-cut delays impacting credit markets globally with Bloomberg's Chief European Credit Strategist. They analyze inflation trends, divergence in monetary policy between the US and Europe, market repricing effects on credit spreads, euro and dollar performance in foreign exchange, and fixed income opportunities in European credit markets.

Alternative investments have historically been available only to institutions and ultrahigh-net-worth individuals, but that may be changing. Yieldstreet Chief Investment Officer Ted Yarbrough says democratizing access to alternatives is the company’s mission. He joined Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Noel Hebert and Sam Geier to talk about sourcing deals, leveraging technology and the importance of education when combining illiquid investments with retail clients. Yarbrough also spoke to the disruptive potential of Yieldstreet’s digital-only platform and his long-term outlook for the business. That and more on this episode of Credit Crunch, part of the FICC Focus podcast series.