Fixed Income

The sharp sell-off in loans tied to First Brands Group, a US auto-parts supplier, has rippled through credit markets in recent weeks — but for investors' outstanding senior secured loans held in Collateralised Loan Obligations (CLOs), the damage appears modest and distinct from reported off balance sheet financings.

France is in the news again. Prime Minister Lecornu became the latest casualty of the French politics saga that began just over a year ago when president Macron called a surprise early election.

Tight spreads and elevated supply are often key signs that fixed income markets are overheating. Despite these all being present within the European High Yield market today, the underlying data points to a more measured backdrop characterised by the printing of high-quality new issues, improving credit fundamentals and a stubbornly supportive technical background, offering investors reassurance over the medium-term future of the asset class.

Oracle priced an $18bn six-tranche (5yr/7yr/10yr/20yr/30yr/40yr) bond deal which was increased from an initial $15bn on the back of exceptionally strong demand. It is the latest sign that the AI investment boom, long the focus of equity markets, is now spilling into credit.

The next few days could be pivotal to any concerns around the independence of the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

On Thursday, markets received preliminary Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures for August. As a reminder, PMIs are timely indicators of trends in manufacturing and services, with a number above 50 signalling an expansion and below 50 a contraction.

Restricted Tier 1 (RT1) investors have been woken from an otherwise sleepy summer after Allianz Group, one of the largest insurers and asset managers globally, brought a $1.25bn deal to the market on Tuesday.

Urbaser, a Spanish waste management specialist, came to the market last week with a controversial new deal. The company launched a €1bn payment-in-kind (PIK) toggle note to fund a dividend to its owner Platinum Equity, just six weeks after it issued a new €2.3bn debt package to refinance its existing debt and fund a further €1bn of dividends.

A French CMBS transaction named River Green – a deal we exited a few years ago at a price in the mid-90s as part of a broader review of our CMBS exposure – has come under renewed scrutiny after a new valuation triggered expectations of principal losses on what were originally AAA rated bonds. Here’s how we got here.

The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) issued their monthly summary of the UK government’s income and expenses as well as the impact these have on the budget deficit and fiscal debt levels.

With the summer holiday season fast approaching, now feels like a good moment to pause and take stock of developments in the European ABS market year-to-date.

The UK Prime RMBS market has continued to evolve in 2025, with a broadening of its participant base driven by the entrance of two new sponsors (Nottingham Building Society and Newcastle Building Society) which have both priced inaugural deals this year.