The TwentyFour Blog
Gauging the Pain Threshold
A quick look at the dashboard of 16 fixed income indices I track clearly shows the amount of pain experienced by investors so far this year. Of the 16 indices I follow, which include IG corporates, government bonds and high yield all denominated in sterling, euros and dollars, Bank CoCos, £ and € Sub Insurance, three hard currency corporate EM indices and the G7 govvie index, only two had a positive total return for the year at the end of October.
High Yield Default Risks Rising
Fixed income managers never like to start their week reading headlines about potential defaults in the high yield sector, but sadly this has been one of those Mondays.
STS: Feel the Squeeze
Changes in regulations are typically long and drawn out, but their impact can often be felt quite quickly. There is every chance that this could soon be the case in ABS markets.
Italian Banks - What Do The Earnings Tell Us?
After some very negative research pieces – some almost sensationally so – on the affect the wider Italian Government Bond (BTP) spreads would have on Italian banks, yesterday we got to see the facts from Intesa Sanpaolo when it reported its Q3 earnings.
Big Few Days For Europe’s Banks
As expected, the EBA 2018 stress tests, which were widely reported on yesterday did not have much of an impact on markets generally, although it’s worth looking at some of the stresses.
Is there a case for Italian RMBS?
At TwentyFour our Italian ABS holdings are fairly moderate, and in general our peripheral ABS exposure has been steadily decreasing for some time. This has nothing to do with credit quality, but everything to do with relative value.
UST Issuance Could Hold Key to Length of the Cycle
A question we have been getting more frequently for from clients in recent weeks concerns US Treasuries, and more specifically how the level of UST issuance (and where along the maturity curve it arrives) will impact yields both in the rates market and further afield in the coming months.
Another One Bites the Dust
Sadly this is not a review of the new Queen biopic, it’s a eulogy to a bond which was called today that is as well known in the securitisation world as Freddie Mercury is in the real one – Paragon Secured Finance 1 (or PSF 1 as we knew it).
Tesco Bonds: Time to Hit the Checkout?
In January 2015, after years of market share erosion and leverage increases, Tesco bonds were downgraded to junk status by Moody’s and S&P, forcing all of Tesco’s debt stack out of IG corporate bond indices in the process.
Call That a Correction?
A volatile last couple of weeks have certainly kept fixed income investors fastened firmly in their seats, with comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell suggesting US monetary policy was “nowhere near neutrality” sending shock waves through global rates, credit and equity markets.
How Will Brexit Impact UK ABS?
This year has been a big one for sterling bond supply, especially in the ABS market. With the end of the Bank of England’s Term Funding Scheme and the comeback of traditional bank issuers, UK issuance volume year-to-date has totalled €25bn from 38 deals placed across different asset classes.
Healthy Tightening in UK Credit Conditions
This morning the much anticipated Q3 2018 Credit Conditions Survey was released by the Bank of England.