FICC Focus

“The theme that we’re seeing a lot of is, do we do the same old LME that we would have done six months ago or a year ago, or should we do more of a comprehensive fixing of the balance sheet once?” says Brian Resnick, a restructuring partner and head of Davis Polk’s Liability Management & Special Opportunities practice, discussing trends in liability management strategies as borrowers prepare for looming 2028 debt maturities. On this episode of the State of Distressed Debt podcast, Resnick joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Negisa Balluku and Phil Brendel to explore the growing consideration of more aggressive, one-shot deleveraging transactions and the advantages for lenders within the “in-crowd.” They also discuss the implications of banks expanding into private credit, what happens if anti-cooperation language gains traction, and the increasing sophistication of disqualified lender provisions. The podcast was recorded at the 22nd annual Wharton Restructuring & Distressed Investing Conference.

The soaring short-term yields in the UK may be somewhat overdone, says Bloomberg Intelligence European Rates Strategist Huw Worthington on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast series. BI’s US Rates Strategist Ira Jersey and Bloomberg Economics Chief US Economist Anna Wong joined him on a webinar the morning of March 19 to discuss the Federal Reserve, Bank of England, and the European Central Bank meetings and the ramifications for rate markets. The trio also discuss some scenarios that were asked during the live Q&A portion of the webinar, and highlight how oil is currently forcing central banks to rethink inflation forecasts.

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

Emerging market central banks have adopted a hawkish bias following the war-induced oil shock, yet fiscal concerns could weigh on domestic currencies as local governments attempt to mitigate the negative impact of rising energy prices. Cem Karacadag, head of global sovereign debt at Barings, joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief EM fixed income strategist, on this episode of the EM Lens podcast to assess portfolio risk, country exposure and institutional interest in the wake of the war in Iran. Karacadag and Sassower discuss issues ranging from curve shape and currency volatility to spread resilience and safe-haven positioning.

“We traditionally have turned over about 60% of the portfolio per year,” says AGL Credit Management’s Chief Operating Officer Wynne Comer, discussing the company’s approach to managing collateralized loan obligations. “That’s 30% through prepayments, 30% through active management.” Comer joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert on the latest episode of the Credit Crunch podcast to discuss the evolution of the CLO market past and present, her transition from banking into asset management, AGL’s extension into private credit and the outlook for continued growth. Comer also explores due diligence, the state of regulation, where bonds play in the CLO market and factoring for AI.

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

Emerging market governments are implementing extraordinary measures to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices, as the war-induced oil shock stirs stagflation pressures and pushes most asset classes lower. Gustavo Medeiros, head of EM research at Ashmore Group, joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief EM fixed income strategist on this episode of the EM Lens podcast to assess underlying risks and potential opportunities should the war in Iran endure. Medeiros and Sassower focus on structural factors such as terms of trade and energy price pass-through when discussing the medium-term impact on EM growth and inflation expectations.

The yield curve may continue its steepening trend, with recent flattening just a cyclical retracement, Jason Granet, CIO of BNY says on this Macro Matter’s episode of the FICC Focus podcast series. Granet joins co-hosts Ira Jersey and Will Hoffman of the Bloomberg Intelligence US Interest-Rate Strategy team to discuss the state of the economy, how BNY assesses the outlook and how it thinks about sizing risk. The focus turns to Federal Reserve policy, the Treasury yield curve and funding markets. 

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

Credit suffered a software loan wobble and private credit contagion before the war in Iran, but it’s been a safe haven vs. rates and equities since hostilities started. In this Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhimalingam, global head of credit strategy at Bloomberg Intelligence and Sarah Harrison, senior portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments, discuss their prognosis on the war, reflect on how various credit classes fared during the technology supply wave and software wobble and then contrast credit performance with rates and equities since the Iran war began. They also discuss supply and relative value across high grade, high yield and loan markets, along with the road ahead amid this volatility.

The Credit Crunch podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

“The goal is to set the company up for longer-term success,” explained Rachel Murray, managing director at Moelis & Co. “If we’re solving quarter-to-quarter, you’re probably not investing in the business as you should; there’s distractions for management, it’s putting more pressure on the business, and frankly, probably their peers and competitors are going after their customers and creating noise.” In her conversation (7:40) with Bloomberg Intelligence’s Negisa Balluku and Phil Brendel at the 22nd annual Wharton Restructuring & Distressed Investing Conference, Murray explored how private credit’s growth and heavy dependence on relationships alter the restructuring dynamic, relative to traditional large cap leveraged finance workouts. This episode of the State of Distressed Debt podcast concludes (31:40) with BI’s Noel Hebert joining Negisa and Phil to discuss the latest developments in First Brands, Saks, Multi-Color Corp., Ardagh Group and Serta.

Prediction markets may revolutionize the municipal bond industry by improving credit transparency, trading efficiencies, hedging strategies and portfolio management. On the inaugural episode of the Masters of the Muniverse podcast, MMA founder Tom Doe and Bloomberg Intelligence’s new head of municipal research and strategy, Matthew Gastall, discuss the possibilities and promise of prediction markets. They also explore potential policy actions in regions exposed to the greatest infrastructure and energy risks.

The Masters of the Muniverse podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.

It’s surprising that the Basel III Endgame proposal may raise bank capital requirements 3-7% given that President Donald Trump’s mantra is deregulation, says Nathan Dean, Bloomberg Intelligence senior policy analyst. Dean joins host Ira Jersey, BI’s chief US rates strategist, to discuss the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s stablecoin proposal implementing the Genius Act, along with open questions around rewards, yield and the Clarity Act. They also discuss the state of the Basel III endgame and related proposals that could reshape global systemically important bank capital through 2027, how tariff authority is shifting after a Supreme Court ruling — and why litigation may be the next battleground — and what the November midterms could mean for legislative gridlock, investigations and policy path dependence. There’s also a quick detour to Ira’s World Cup picks.

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