FICC Focus

A changing Federal Reserve, tight credit spreads and renewed opportunities in securitized markets are reshaping the fixed-income outlook. Russ Brownback, BlackRock’s deputy CIO of global fixed income and manager of the Strategic Income Opportunities Fund, joins Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence chief US interest-rate strategist on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast. Brownback discusses what Kevin Warsh’s expected arrival as Fed chair could mean for policy, why he sees balance-sheet changes happening only gradually, and how public debate among policy makers reflects the complexity of the current economic environment. The two explore where Brownback sees the best opportunities across global fixed income, from carry trades and diversified credit portfolios to structured products such as commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, and non-agency mortgages. They also discuss relative value in Europe, improving prospects in emerging markets and why large US fiscal deficits are a market risk worth monitoring, but not yet a solvency concern.

Despite the war-induced increase in macroeconomic uncertainty, investors are returning to emerging market fixed income as the universe of investible alpha opportunities continues to expand. Arif Joshi, senior managing director and EM fixed income portfolio manager at Bramshill Investments, joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief EM fixed income strategist, to assess the structural backdrop as focus shifts to supply shortages across the energy complex. Joshi and Sassower touch on policy, positioning and performance across EM as the war in Iran persists.

New York’s shifting political environment has significant implications for the city’s finances and municipal bond portfolios. In this episode of the Masters of the Muniverse podcast, Pat Luby, head of municipal research and senior municipal strategist at CreditSights, joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Matthew Gastall, head of municipal research and strategy, and BI senior associate Karen Altamirano. Luby also shares his views on the growing importance of muni ETFs, new-issue volume trends, and what they could mean for issuers and investors.

Funding markets have remained remarkably calm even as investors continue to debate risks around Federal Reserve balance-sheet policy and the outlook for repo. Jerome Schneider, managing director at Pimco and head of short-term portfolio management and funding, joins Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence chief US interest-rate strategist, and Will Hoffman, BI US and Canadian rates strategist, on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast. Schneider discusses why the funding backdrop looks more resilient than in past stress episodes, how the Fed’s backstops have changed the market’s risk profile and where he still sees pockets of illiquidity. The three also examine the tradeoffs between money-market funds and ultra-short strategies, how investors are using front-end products during bouts of volatility and what mandatory central clearing could mean for repo market structure.

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

Global credit risk has been repriced wider and tighter by the Iran war and strategic insights are essential for outperformance. In this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast, Mahesh Bhimalingam, Bloomberg Intelligence’s global head of credit strategy, hosts BI’s global credit strategy team to highlight worldwide research, data and views. Tim Tan and Jason Lee (Asia), Basel Al-Waqayan (Middle East), Reto Bachmann (Structured Credit), Heema Patel (Europe) and Sam Geier (US) share takeaways on their recent research, relative value and major themes shaping their regions. Access their research on the Bloomberg Terminal at BI STRTA, BI STRTE, BI STRTN and BI EMFIG.

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