“The pace and trajectory of private-market growth has simply outpaced the growth of bank balance sheets,” says Dadong Yan, head of Barings Portfolio Finance, explaining the success of the asset class and the opportunities that lie ahead. In this episode of Credit Crunch, Yan joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert to discuss the evolution of portfolio finance from a bank-dominated lending business to an institutional investment opportunity, and how institutional capital helps to fill the financing gap created in private markets. The two talk about the importance of disciplined underwriting, diversification and structural protections, while Yan argues that controlling lender positions, proprietary data and rigorous risk management — not simply yield — will determine long-term success in the asset class.

The Credit Crunch podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.

Cooling inflation and a softer labor market are giving the Federal Reserve more room to remain patient, even as investors debate whether Kevin Warsh’s Fed could still deliver another rate increase. Chris Hodge, chief economist at Natixis, joins Bloomberg Intelligence interest rate strategists Ira Jersey and Will Hoffman to discuss this and more on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast. Hodge explains why recent CPI and PPI data reinforce his view that disinflation remains intact, with tariff effects largely having passed through, housing pressures moderating and wage growth consistent with inflation moving closer to the Fed’s target. The group discusses why Natixis expects the Fed to remain on an extended hold, how recent weakness in the labor market could increase policymakers’ tolerance for above-target inflation and what changes may emerge from Warsh’s reviews of the central bank’s inflation framework and data. They also examine the housing outlook, the approaching midterm elections and why divided government may constrain major fiscal legislation without materially changing the longer-term US deficit trajectory.

The Macro Matters podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.

Rates and the new Fed are at the forefront of market headlines amid wide government bond yields. In this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhimalingam, Bloomberg Intelligence’s global head of credit strategy, discusses how credit remains a safe haven in every crisis with Mohammed Kazmi, senior portfolio manager at Union Bancaire Privée. They dig deep into the new Fed policy, its operational changes and Fedspeak, and the impact on the yield curve and credit. They also discuss the impact of nominal growth on credit quality and defaults, why credit has been a safe haven and why that is unlikely to change in the near future.

The Credit Crunch podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.

South Korea has become a real-world case study in how market concentration, investor enthusiasm and leveraged ETFs can amplify volatility. In this episode, Bloomberg Intelligence’s Tanvir Sandhu, Rena Kwok and Shirley Wong examine how leveraged products can create powerful feedback loops when positioning starts to outweigh fundamentals. They unpack the mechanics of ETF rebalancing, the role of AI and semiconductor enthusiasm in Korea’s recent market swings and the implications for brokerages, fixed-income investors and broader investment themes across Asia.

“We’ve gotten a little addicted post-2008 to the Fed guiding us,” says Michael Goosay, CIO and global head of fixed income for Principal Asset Management. “I’ve been doing this a very long time to remember when... we kind of had to guess at what the Fed did.” In this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast, Goosay joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert to talk about the potential implication of a less-transparent Federal Reserve, while hitting on other key areas including investment grade and high yield credit, AI-driven corporate issuance, interest rates and global capital flows. The two also discuss portfolio construction and how, despite macro uncertainty having increased, corporate fundamentals remain resilient, and how the current backdrop favors active management. Emerging markets, securitized credit and municipals are discussed in brief, as is the current relative value landscape.

The Credit Crunch podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.

Emerging market local-currency government debt deserves a prominent place in global fixed income portfolios, as economic fundamentals remain resilient and the US dollar remains rich. Victoria Courmes, portfolio manager on GMO’s emerging country debt team, joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief EM fixed income strategist, to assess the firm’s total return expectations through the second half of 2026. Courmes and Sassower identify undervalued sectors, explore alternative investment strategies and discuss the risk-return tradeoff in opportunistic frontier markets.

With the change in leadership at the Federal Reserve, investors are paying greater-than-usual attention to the outlook for short-term funding markets, money-market funds and the central bank’s balance sheet. Laurie Brignac, head of global liquidity at Invesco, joins Bloomberg Intelligence interest rate strategists Ira Jersey and Will Hoffman to discuss this and more on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast. Brignac explains why lending excess Treasury General Account balances into the repo market may create more operational risk than income, and why shrinking the Fed’s balance sheet would require changes to bank liquidity regulations before reserve balances can fall significantly. The group also examines whether the Fed should return to traditional temporary open-market operations, how stigma continues to limit use of standing liquidity facilities and where Invesco sees value across Treasury bills, commercial paper and ultra-short strategies. They close with a discussion of institutional and retail money-fund flows, the market’s capacity to absorb growing bill issuance and what investors should watch as the Fed’s task forces review its communications, data and balance-sheet frameworks.

The Macro Matters podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.

In this episode of the FX Moment podcast, Bloomberg Intelligence Chief FX Strategist Audrey Childe-Freeman and Chris Turner, head of FX strategy at ING Bank in London, discuss dollar-yen near- and mid-term dynamics. The combined shift in the dollar view following the July 29 Fed meeting, stretched long positioning and joint US-Japan FX intervention were the perfect catalysts for a sharp move lower in dollar-yen, yet the market is already questioning whether the move can be sustained. Childe-Freeman and Turner both see a risk of further joint FX intervention, which should keep dollar-yen bulls in check for now, while US economic data and the associated Fed outlook, along with the BOJ’s September policy decision and Japan’s fiscal credibility, may determine how bullish investors can be on the yen into 4Q. They also discuss non-dollar ways to express the carry trade, including via bullish Norwegian krone and Australian dollar views.

“In the US today, what you see is... capital leaving the system out of the BDCs, and that’s creating a lot of technical pressure on the market,” says Robin Doumar, founder and managing partner of Park Square Capital. “So we should see better structures, better pricing, better terms.” In this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast, Doumar joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert to discuss Park Square Capital’s founding, growth and evolution since its launch in 2004, as well as its prospects for future growth. The two discuss the shift toward institutional private credit from what was once a bank-dominated European leveraged finance market, the benefits of evergreen funds and why current challenges facing large BDCs may create technical tailwinds for direct lenders more broadly. Doumar also talks about borrower selection, being willing to own an asset and the importance of culture to Park Square’s story.

Kevin Warsh’s new communications approach may be creating more uncertainty for markets, not less. Anna Wong, Bloomberg Economics chief US economist, joins Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence chief US interest-rate strategist, on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast. Wong discusses why Warsh’s latest press conference appeared to contribute to the selloff in long-dated Treasuries, how his reluctance to provide a clear policy framework raised questions about the Fed’s commitment to its inflation target and what changes could emerge from the central bank’s communications task force. They also examine whether the Fed could adopt Bank of England-style explanations of individual dissents, publish scenario analyses and reduce its reliance on the dot plot. Wong explains why she expects softer inflation and labor-market data to keep the Fed on hold for the rest of 2026, and how the recent rise in real yields could slow housing, industrial production and broader financial conditions.

The Macro Matters podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.