FICC Focus

Globalization has slowed, yet access to local markets is improving, and the EM asset class remains underrepresented in most global portfolios. In this episode of the EM Lens podcast, Rich Nuzum, executive director and global chief investment strategist at Mercer, joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence chief emerging market fixed-income strategist, to discuss the Mercer’s affinity for emerging market assets and their role within large institutional portfolios. Globalization has slowed, yet access to local markets is improving, and the EM asset class remains under-represented in most global portfolios. Nuzum and Sassower touch on supply chain diversification, demographics, total return expectations and terms of trade.

Despite the recent spike in volatility, investor sentiment is broadly positive, yet tail risks are emanating as we push into year-end. Dr. Nouriel Roubini, Chairman & CEO of Roubini Macro Associates, joins BI Chief Emerging Market Fixed Income StrategistDamian Sassower, to discuss policy stimulus, growth potential and inflationary price pressures across the globe. Roubini and Sassower touch on issues ranging from diminished US exceptionalism and extreme China pessimism to elevated Mideast tension and the accompanying passthrough to commodities.

This edition of All Options Considered is the recording of part of the Bloomberg Volatility Forum 2024 held in NYC on October 1st. It starts with the opening 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 options market by Pierre De Saab, partner at Dominice, Nancy Davis, founder of Quadratic Capital Management, and Deniz Cicek, Portfolio Manager at Axonic Capital. The panel is hosted by Noel Hebert, Direction of FICC Strategy at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Private credit markets have seen tremendous growth over the past decade, establishing themselves as viable sources of funding for companies across the rating spectrum. That growth may not slow down anytime soon, according to Amanda Lynam, head of Macro Credit Research at BlackRock. Lynam joins Noel Hebert and Sam Geier of Bloomberg Intelligence on this episode of Credit Crunch to walk through trends in the corporate-credit space. The discussion hits on how corporate credit spreads could tighten, the ebbs and flows of financing mix, the default cycle, regional relative value and much more. Credit Crunch is part of the FICC Focus podcast.

“LMEs buy time for the sponsor, but I’m increasingly seeing that that’s all it really does.” Jon Weber, founder of JFW & Co., doesn’t mince words regarding the effectiveness of the popular restructuring strategy. Liability management exercises leave executives with a “sword of Damocles” over their heads, failing to really fix anything and with an aftermath that remains a management distraction, Weber told Bloomberg Intelligence’s Phil Brendel, in October’s feature interview for the State of Distressed Debt podcast. Weber shared his perspectives, honed at Icahn Enterprises, Goldman Sachs and Elliott Management, on running effective boards and companies post-reorganization (6:30). Prior to that, BI’s Noel Hebert and Phil discussed the complete dearth of distressed-debt inventory, as the distressed ratio plummeted to a 5.2% 28-month low in September. The podcast concludes with BI’s Negisa Balluku joining Noel and Phil for a roundtable discussion covering J&J’s latest Talc news, Hertz make-whole appeal, Audacy, Yellow, Tupperware, Telesat and what qualifies as a consensual release these days (59:00).This podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.

In the beige book, you see all 12 districts reporting declining spending in some way shape or form, and that’s unheard of: There is no such thing, and I think that is what got the attention of the Federal Reserve, says Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO and chief strategist for QI Research. In this edition of the Macro Matters podcast, Booth joins host and Bloomberg Intelligence chief North American rates strategist Ira Jersey to discuss changes to the microstructure of the US Treasury market, as well as some of the largest systemic risks to financial markets. The duo also touch on potential Fed reforms and changes to bank-capital rules affecting market-making activity and liquidity in US Treasury markets.

China's recent monetary and fiscal stimulus announcements may bring near-term cyclical relief and add to the bullish case for yuan-proxy currencies like the Australian dollar and may help to contain euro downside amid underwhelming domestic news flow. Yet a longer-term, structural boost is debatable. Host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence's chief G-10 FX Strategist, talks to Dr Win Thin, Brown Brothers Harriman's global head of market strategy, about how the recent measures from China could shape the dollar outlook later this year and into 2025.Win and Audrey also touch on how China could affect the euro as Europe's economic news flow disappoints, plus the US economic outlook and how the US presidential election might drive the dollar view.

The corporate credit landscape could face uncertain times ahead, with upcoming elections, policy shifts and global conflicts. Andrew Beckman, Head of Global Credit at FS Investments, joins Credit Crunch’s Noel Hebert and Sam Geier to discuss the firm’s approach to investing across public and private markets. The conversation delves into current risk-reward levels, the credit-quality sweet spot, leveraging the broader FS infrastructure, creditor-on-creditor violence and more. Credit Crunch is part of the FICC Focus podcast.

In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Dan Hanson, Chief UK Economist at Bloomberg Economics. They discuss the BOE, economic outlook and market volatility.

Andrew Jackson, head of fixed income at Vontobel Asset Management, joins BI chief emerging market fixed income strategist Damian Sassower, to discuss portfolio positioning and market expectations after the US Federal Reserve’s larger-than-expected interest rate cut. Despite the rise in volatility, investor sentiment toward emerging-market debt remains positive, yet tail risk remains elevated as 4Q approaches. Jackson and Sassower touch on issues ranging from new issuance and secondary-market liquidity to credit quality and default protection.