Nu variant panic sends credit spreads to the year's wides
The discovery of a new covid-19 variant has routed financial markets at the end of what had already been a dour week, sending credit spreads to their widest of the year

Supply chain crisis hits credit amid shift to physical products
Credit investors are bracing for choppy waters as the supply chain crisis makes itself felt on company balance sheets heading into the year end

Financials lead as credit opens 2021 with optimism
Financial credits, and particularly banks, are among the big movers today with the market having opened 2021 in buoyant mood following agreements on a Brexit deal and US stimulus package

Spread compression resumes with US passing key milestones
Credit markets have resumed their crunch tighter today, with an absence of any obviously negative brakes to offset strengthening Asian industrial numbers and applications by vaccine makers for emergency approval in the US and Europe

KKR takes covid-19 hit on flagship credit funds and lev fin
KKR took a 16% hit to returns on its alternative credit flagship funds amid the first quarter coronavirus downturn and a 13% loss on leveraged credit, taking these into negative territory for the last 12 months. The firm's private equity portfolio also slumped by 12%

KKR deploys 10% of $2 billion coronavirus dislocation credit fund
KKR Credit has plans to launch a $2 billion dislocated corporate and asset backed credit fund to take advantage of coronavirus-induced volatility. And the New York-based manager has wasted no time swooping on opportunities after deploying $212 million by 9 April

Short-dated CSOs touted as jump-to-default risk hits curves
The coronavirus outbreak has all but vanquished hopes of any regular CSO business getting done, but sources say bespoke portfolios of short-dated CDS could soon be in the offing as investors look to express a view on when the crisis will end.

Structured credit dragged very wide — but CLOs stand to gain
Senior tranches of securitisations widened 220% in less than a month as the coronavirus pandemic has meant an increase in systemic risk — a sharp turnaround from the past few months when idiosyncratic risks were being cited as the main concern for structured credit investors.

CDS show the way as prices move and volumes surge
CDS volumes provide an eye-opening view of how the asset class has grown in prominence during the coronavirus pandemic, with index trading near doubling year-to-date on 2019, even as secondary bond markets hit lockdown.