Kevin Horan
Former Director, Fixed Income Indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices
Like the Virus, Credit Spreads Could Be at Risk of a Possible Second Wave
Ever since the Fed released its tsunami of credit, credit markets have rallied the most since the depth of the Global Financial Crisis. Continued central bank actions have driven the already existing trend toward demand for higher-yielding assets, helping companies issue debt with fewer lender safeguards and covenants. With the Fed willing to support the…
ETFs Add to African Access
The exchanged-traded fund (ETF) structure has led to increased investment options within fixed income, and the African markets are a clear example of this. Over the past few years, several African ETFs have been introduced to the market, tracking indices provided by S&P Dow Jones Indices in South Africa, Nigeria, and Namibia, giving investors options…
Distressed in Distressing Times
Jeff Gundlach has been recently quoted as asking, “the Fed can buy up corporate bond ETFs and thereby prop up prices of corporate bonds, but what happens when there are defaults and the artificial Fed price is replaced by the recovery value?” We have already seen how the S&P U.S. Corporate Investment Grade Corporate Bond…
Some Sectors Are Slippery Slopes as Markets Head Downhill
While ski resorts in the Northern Hemisphere were hampered by a mild end of winter, the downhill we are all experiencing has introduced a level of uncertainty and volatility beyond the slopes. The week of March 9, 2020, will go down in history as a time of unprecedented challenge and change. The spread of the…
Green Bond Issuance: Setting Records
In June 2019, Reuters published that green bond issuance for the year had surpassed USD 100 billion,[1] which extolled a milestone of the first time the green bond issuance pace had reached the USD 100 billion mark by the first half of the year. Issuance could be on track to double by the end of…
The Heat Is On for High Yield in July
All bonds are not the same, and when it comes to high yield they can be more like equity than fixed income at times. High yield’s lower credit ratings and reliance on funding add risk, and some investors have relied on this asset class over the past couple of years in search of yield. An…
The IMF Comment May Push South Africans to Sovereigns
The South African economy, Africa’s second-largest economy after Nigeria, may be helped by reforms put in place by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Earlier this year, South Africa suffered a setback, as data showed the economy dipping into a recession, but Ramophosa has since unveiled a stimulus and recovery plan to try and get it back on…
Puerto Rico Bonds: A Surging Force
After wreaking havoc on the municipal bond markets, Puerto Rico bonds have recently been adding value through their recovery. Bonds rallied after the latest debt restructuring deal was struck between the commonwealth and the bond holders. Additional supporting news, as mentioned in an article from Reuters,[1] was a federal court ruling affirming the budgetary powers…
Leveraged Loans Over High-Yield Bonds
As of July 5, 2018, the S&P/LSTA U.S. Leveraged Loan 100 Index returned 2% YTD, compared with the S&P U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Index’s return of -0.29%. In 2018, U.S. high-yield performance has experienced two rather sizeable negative returns—back-to-back declines in February (-1.05%) and March (-0.45%)—followed by a turnaround in April (see Exhibit 1)….
Inflation: Benign for Now
Having broken through 2% in January 2018, the 10-year U.S. Treasury breakeven rate (as measured by the difference between the S&P U.S. Treasury Bond Current 10-Year Index and the S&P U.S. TIPS 10 Year Index) has continued to increase, reaching a YTD high of 2.18% on April 23, 2018. As of May 14, 2018, the…