FICC Focus

"LMEs buy time for the sponsor, but I'm increasingly seeing that that's all it really does." Jon Weber, founder of JFW & Co., LLC, doesn't mince words regarding the effectiveness of the popular restructuring strategy. Liability management exercises leave executives with a "Sword of Damocles" over their heads, Jon shared with Bloomberg Intelligence's Phil Brendel in October's feature interview, failing to really fix anything and whose aftermath remains a management distraction. Jon shared his perspectives, honed at Icahn Enterprises, Goldman Sachs, and Elliott Management, on running effective boards and companies post-reorganization (6:30). Prior to that, BI's Noel Hebert and Phil discussed the complete dearth of distressed debt inventory, as the distressed ratio plummeted to a 5.2% 28-month low in September. The podcast concludes with BI's Negisa Balluku joining Noel and Phil for a roundtable discussion covering J&J's latest Talc escapades, Hertz make-whole appeals, Audacy, Yellow, Tupperware, Telesat, and what qualifies as a consensual release these days (59:00).

In the beige book, you see 12 of 12 districts reporting declining spending in some way shape or form, that’s unheard of. There is no such thing, and I think that is what got the attention of the Fed, says Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO and Chief Strategist for QI Research. Booth is joined by host and Bloomberg Intelligence's Chief North American rates strategist Ira Jersey to discuss changes to the microstructure of the US Treasury market as well as some of the largest systemic risks to financial markets. The duo also touch on potential Federal Reserve reforms and changes to bank capital rules impacting market making activity and liquidity in US Treasury markets.

China's recent monetary and fiscal stimulus announcements may bring near-term cyclical relief and add to the bullish case for yuan-proxy currencies like the Australian dollar and may help to contain euro downside amid underwhelming domestic news flow. Yet a longer-term, structural boost is debatable. Host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence's chief G-10 FX Strategist, talks to Dr Win Thin, Brown Brothers Harriman's global head of market strategy, about how the recent measures from China could shape the dollar outlook later this year and into 2025. Win and Audrey also touch on how China could affect the euro as Europe's economic news flow disappoints, plus the US economic outlook and how the US presidential election might drive the dollar view. Listen to FICC Focus on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The corporate credit landscape could face uncertain times ahead, with upcoming elections, policy shifts and global conflicts. Andrew Beckman, Head of Global Credit at FS Investments, joins Credit Crunch's Noel Hebert and Sam Geier to discuss the firm's approach to investing across public and private markets. The conversation delves into current risk-reward levels, the credit quality sweet-spot, leveraging the broader FS infrastructure, creditor-on-creditor violence, and more. Credit Crunch is part of the FICC Focus podcast.

In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Dan Hanson, Chief UK Economist at Bloomberg Economics. They discuss the BOE, economic outlook and market volatility. Listen to FICC Focus on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.