April saw a continued positive shift in the difference between credit default swap (CDS) spreads and cash spread equivalent, known as the CDS-bond basis, among US dollar denominated corporate bonds. Calmer global markets and stronger oil and commodity prices encouraged continued recovery in battered bond prices in the oil & gas sector, with EQT Corp…
Lender Survey: Are you seeing cracks in your portfolio? Yes, we are seeing signs of cracks in credit quality in our portfolios, said roughly 42% of the nearly 400 attendees gathered at the Marriott in Times Square for Thomson Reuters LPC’s 4th Annual Middle Market Loans Conference last week. While these respondents said some companies…
U.S. PE-backed hold times in the middle market remain high Reflecting the decline in private equity-backed exit activity observed across the whole market in the first quarter of 2016, U.S. PE-backed exits in the middle market were also quite low, with only 170 sales for nearly $13 billion recorded. After the banner run PE sellers…
Japanese bonds rise despite BOJ disappointment Japanese sovereign bonds managed to deliver positive returns today, while almost every other asset class suffered from the Bank of Japan’s decision to reject further loosening of monetary policy. Japanese government bonds tightened by 3 bps today but corporate bonds saw risk surge Corporate bond CDS spreads jumped by…
Credit concerns have increased this year as defaults, while still low by historical standards, continue to move higher. The U.S. leveraged loan default rate ended the first quarter at 2.8%, up from 2% in the previous quarter, and up from 1% a year ago, according to Moody’s. In the first quarter, $7.3 billion of leveraged…
PE Firms Looking Lower for Value As prices remain stubbornly high in many cases, a surge in overall private equity deal value in the reaches of the U.S. lower middle market is not wholly unexpected – on a quarterly basis, deal value was up by over 80% from 4Q while transactions jumped 14% in number….
Brazil leads as credit risk in Latam region recedes Brazil’s 5-yr sovereign CDS spread has tightened to its lowest level since last August Peru, Chile and Colombia have all seen a 35% tightening in sovereign credit spreads Markit iBoxx USD Emerging Markets Corporates LatAm Index has returned 7.7% this year Credit markets reacted positively after…
Exploration and production companies continue to feel the crunch from low oil prices, which began their slide in mid-2014. While oil prices have rebounded from this year’s February lows, the uplift is facing major headwinds as OPEC members and Russia recently announced they wouldn’t freeze production. Many companies have filed for bankruptcy and more are expected…
Will 2016 Record More Add-ons Than Last Year? As a proportion of overall U.S. buyout activity, add-ons have gone from strength to strength. But the latest quarterly numbers have topped them all. In the first quarter of 2016, add-ons comprised 68% of all private equity buyout activity. While this percentage will likely decline as the…
When it comes to the Italian banks, pessimists are not in short supply. Indeed, to be bullish on this sector could be considered contrarian, or even foolhardy, given its parlous state. Asset quality is the overriding problem – Italy’s banks have €360bn of non-performing loans on their balance sheet, about a third of the eurozone’s…