Podcast
FICC Focus
Hosted by Bloomberg Intelligence · EN
FICC Focus offers the latest market views on interest rates, corporate bonds, emerging market debt, commodities, and currencies by Bloomberg Intelligence analysts.
72episodes
Episodes
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EM Lens: Extracting the Complexity Premium in Emerging Markets
4d ago00:21:44Tap to summarizeEmerging markets are becoming a strategic focus for creditors looking to extract the complexity premium embedded in local markets. Atanas Bostandjiev, chairman and founder of Gemcorp Capital Management, joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief EM fixed income strategist, to assess the opportunities available to institutional investors with perpetual capital. Bostandjiev and Sassower discuss the durability of alpha generation, the formation of behavioral biases and the ability to capitalize on structural inefficiencies across EM.
Transcribe →Macro Matters: Lazard’s Van Nostrand on Supply-Shock Investing
4d ago00:22:23Tap to summarizeSupply shocks, inflation risks and AI are reshaping the investment landscape, a theme that Lazard’s Chief Investment Officer Eric Van Nostrand discusses with Ira Jersey on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast. Van Nostrand explains why macro matters more to markets now than it did for much of the past two decades, and why investors need to focus more on supply dynamics than traditional demand management. The two examine the inflationary consequences of the conflict in Iran, why Van Nostrand believes the market is underestimating the risk of persistently higher oil prices, and how those pressures complicate the outlook for the Federal Reserve under Chairman Kevin Warsh. They also discuss how fiscal and local policy affect long-term supply growth, why European equities look more attractive than they have in years, and where Lazard sees opportunities tied to the AI buildout, data-center infrastructure and emerging markets in a weaker-dollar world. The Macro Matters podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.
Transcribe →FX Moment: Euro-Dollar 2H Outlook Has Become Binary
5d ago00:20:11Tap to summarizeRecent euro-dollar price action has validated structural euro-dollar bulls, with the case for diversification strategies beyond the dollar still holding as we look to 2H and 2027. Yet this view is increasingly at risk from an evolving cyclical narrative, with an outperforming US economy and the potential for a hawkish tilt from the Federal Reserve likely to revive cyclical euro-dollar bears into 2H. In this episode of FX Moment, Bloomberg Intelligence Chief G10 FX Strategist Audrey Childe-Freeman and Laura Cooper, managing director and head of macro credit at Nuveen, discuss euro-dollar views into 2H. They also explore compelling FX views beyond the greenback, with Cooper highlighting a potentially more supportive context for the Canadian dollar. The FX Moment podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series. Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Transcribe →State of Distressed Debt: Ensis’ Shinder on Middle-Market Workouts
2w ago00:31:39Tap to summarize“There’s such an informational asymmetry between incumbent investors — the direct lenders who are in the deal and the sponsor — and new parties that it can be harder to bridge that bid-ask,” said Ensis Partners Co-Founder Richard Shinder, “Price transparency acts as a signal... and if you don’t have that price signal, that can be a deterrent to getting things done.” Shinder shared valuable insights into the rapidly evolving middle-market and private credit restructuring landscape in his conversation with Bloomberg Intelligence’s Phil Brendel at the Beard Group Distressed Investing Media Night in New York City on May 19. The discussion delves into asset-liability mismatches, the rising impact of AI and obsolescence risk on technology workouts, pricing transparency challenges and what a “higher-for-longer” interest rate environment means for shifting systemic risks.
Transcribe →Macro Matters: Morgan Stanley’s Hornbach on Oil and Global Rates
2w ago00:26:14Tap to summarizeOil prices have become the key driver of global rates markets as conflict in the Middle East reshapes inflation expectations and policy outlooks. Matt Hornbach, Morgan Stanley’s global head of macro strategy, joins Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence chief US interest-rate strategist, on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast. Hornbach explains why energy prices have been the dominant force behind moves in US and global bond markets, why longer-term inflation expectations have remained relatively contained and how the Federal Reserve under Kevin Warsh may react differently to oil at $80 vs. $110 a barrel. The two also discuss whether investors are too confident that crude prices will remain structurally elevated even after the Strait of Hormuz reopens, and what that could mean for Treasury yields and broader asset markets. They also examine spillover from Japan’s bond market, the risks around the Bank of Japan and dollar-yen and why upcoming trade negotiations involving the US, Mexico and Canada could become another important source of volatility for global fixed income.
Transcribe →EM Lens: Dispersion Creates Cleaner Entry Points in EM Debt
2w ago00:36:10Tap to summarizeDispersion is rising across emerging markets, reflecting differences in external balances, policy flexibility and economic proximity to the war in Iran. Pablo Goldberg, EM fixed income portfolio manager at BlackRock, joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief EM fixed income strategist, to assess institutional positioning and investor sentiment across the asset class, as real yields are attractive and fundamentals remain resilient. Goldberg and Sassower discuss inflation expectations, election risk, rating migration and the policy outlook across EMs amid ongoing developments in the Middle East.
Transcribe →State of Distressed Debt: Judge Kaplan on Bankruptcy Mediation, Venue
2w ago00:28:09Tap to summarize“I’ve been shocked by the attention the issue as far as my mediating cases that are before me has gotten because in my view it’s just a label,” US Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan said, addressing the scrutiny surrounding his role as a mediator in cases pending before him. Bankruptcy judges “have always brought parties into chambers in an effort to settle matters when it’s consensual.” In a conversation with Bloomberg Intelligence’s Negisa Balluku at the Beard Group’s Distressed Investing Media Night on May 19, Judge Kaplan framed bankruptcy judges as trial-level problem solvers, discussed his Multi-Color venue opinion, and raised concerns about the speed and cost of Chapter 11, as well as the weakening effect that liability management exercises can have on future debtors.
Transcribe →State of Distressed: Mudrick on the Post-LME Maturity Wall
3w ago00:26:36Tap to summarize“You have a refinancing problem; that’s the dynamic that we’re in today. With the covenant-lite nature of the loan market, most of these better-quality businesses can orchestrate an extension one time,” said Jason Mudrick, founder and chief investment officer of Mudrick Capital Management. “The problem is when you get to that new post-LME maturity wall, it’s going to be much more challenging if we did our jobs right to do another LME.” Bloomberg Intelligence’s Phil Brendel and Negisa Balluku sat down with Mudrick at the Beard Group Distressed Investing Media Night on May 19 to discuss the evolving landscape for liability management exercises (LMEs). Mudrick shared his perspective on navigating complex restructurings, the strategic role of litigation and how changing legal loopholes and market dynamics are shifting tactics for distressed investors. He also reflects on high-profile past cases like AMC Entertainment and Party City, detailing how “irrationally high” market caps and management relationships affect investment outcomes.
Transcribe →Macro Matters: DWS’ Catrambone on Long-End Selloff, Warsh Fed
3w ago00:22:14Tap to summarizeRising Treasury yields, war-driven inflation concerns and uncertainty over the Federal Reserve are reshaping the fixed-income outlook. George Catrambone, head of fixed income for the Americas at DWS Group, joins Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence chief US interest-rate strategist, on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast. Catrambone discusses why the move higher in long-end Treasury yields has been driven more by oil, inflation expectations and fiscal concerns than by growth, and why he sees the most compelling opportunity in owning the front end of the curve. The two examine Kevin Warsh’s arrival as Fed chair, how the balance of hawks and doves on the FOMC could shape the path for rate cuts and whether changes to the Fed’s communication framework -- including the future of the dot plot -- are likely. They also discuss how higher deficits, rising debt-service costs and growing bill supply could pressure Treasury issuance and long-dated yields.
Transcribe →Credit Crunch: TCW’s Miller on Rescue Capital and Direct Lending
3w ago01:02:32Tap to summarize“The key to longevity in lending is really avoiding principal loss, minimizing principal loss,” says Richard Miller, chief investment officer of TCW’s Private Credit Group. Reduced distress has led to less demand for restructuring and recovery-optimization skill sets in recent years, but “it really feels like in the next four or five [years]... those characteristics are going to be important for performance in this space,” according to Miller. He joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert on this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast to discuss TCW’s suite across direct lending and rescue capital, as well as its strategic partnership with PNC. They also explore appropriate leverage profiles, whether software is uninvestable, having flexibility beyond sponsor-led deals and why newer-vintage direct-lending offerings might be better positioned.
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