In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu covers the VIX at 65 being due to market technicals and unreflective of fundamentals, as well as the support for rates volatility from uncertainty around the pace and extent that policy rates decline rather than the direction of travel, which is clear cut.

Emerging Market corporate and quasi-sovereign debt is outperforming the broader EM sovereign-credit complex, as the asset class returns to favor following years of below-average bond issuance. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, Emerging Market Portfolio Manager at Schroders Autumn Graham joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Damian Sassower, chief EM credit strategist, to discuss the risk-return tradeoff in EM corporate credit. Graham and Sassower touch on issuer fundamentals, market depth, foreign positioning, geopolitical risk and the impact of deglobalization. This podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.

Increased electronification and the growing prevalence of portfolio trading are creating opportunities for systematic credit, which seeks to harness the explosion of data to create models and strategies, says Paul Benson, head of systematic fixed income at Insight Investment. Benson joins BI credit strategists Noel Hebert and Sam Geier to discuss the history of the systematic approach, model dependency, excess liquidity premiums and identifying relative value. That and more in this latest episode of Credit Crunch. Credit Crunch is part of the FICC Focus podcast series.

“There's not enough private credit capital relative to private equity demand,” Armen Panossian, managing director, head of performing credit and incoming co-CEO for Oaktree Capital Management says. Panossian joins Bloomberg Intelligence's Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on this Credit Crunch episode of the podcast FICC Focus podcast series for an in-depth discussion about private-credit growth, the high-yield opportunity, expected impacts from a prospective economic slowdown and more.

“There’s always an opportunity at the issuer level in leveraged finance,” Bryan Whalen, co-chief investment officer and a generalist portfolio manager for TCW’s fixed income group says. Whalen joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on this episode of the Credit Crunch podcast to discuss positioning for economic turbulence across core-plus and high yield, the value proposition in mortgage-backed securities and why corporate credit spreads look tight.

Emerging market risk premia is on the rise, as higher geopolitical risk amplifies the impact from tighter financial conditions. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, JPMorgan Managing Director of EM Fixed Income Strategy Saad Siddiqui joins Chief EM Fixed Income Strategist Damian Sassower to deliver his outlook on emerging market interest rates and foreign exchange. From the selloff in US Treasuries to rising oil prices and China's struggling economic recovery, we discuss the opportunities and risks facing EM investors.

Rates are higher (for longer, if we’re being honest), the curve is pancaking and, once again, fixed-income losses will be headline fodder. However, with every tick higher in benchmark yields, municipals get an opportunity that many in the asset class won’t see in a career. For those investors focused on building an income stream and less on immediate statement marks, munis are becoming the must-have accessory for this fall season.  James Pruskowski, chief investment officer and head of the Global Client Business at 16Rock asset management, joins Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamirano this month to discuss the latest run-up in rates, the macro headwinds buffeting the market and what technological change in munis may look like.

In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Mandy Xu, Head of Derivatives Market Intelligence at CBOE. They address concerns over zero-days-to-expiry options (0DTEs), the typical users and common strategies traded. Other topics include the lack of reactivity of the VIX to market declines and dispersion trading.

“There’s no hope on the [US federal] deficit front,” says Robert Tipp, PGIM’s Chief Investment Strategist and head of global bonds on this 200th edition of the Bloomberg Intelligence FICC Focus Podcast. Tipp joins host Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief US interest rate strategist on this Macro Matters episode to discuss the state of the global rates markets, including Tipp’s view on the near term and more secular drivers of Treasury yields and the Federal Reserve’s policy. Tipp sees the longer-term bull market in rates coming to an end, and looks for the Fed’s policy-rate terminal floor to be at or above 3%. Importantly, he also views deficits as being detrimental to the Treasury market, but sees opportunity for investors to benefit from being in corporate credit as the Fed’s hiking cycle ends.  In the Interest Rate Intro segment of the podcast, US interest rate strategy associate Will Hoffman asks Jersey about financial conditions and how tightening feeds into the Fed’s near-term interest rate action.

High yield had a great year in terms of returns in both US and Europe. In Europe, we saw just two index defaults this year and the proportion of stressed and distressed bonds is under control while its surged in the US. Will 4Q sustain this year's gains, and when do we see a default wave, if any? Listen to Mahesh Bhimalingam, Bloomberg Intelligence's Chief European Credit Strategist, discuss the results of the 4Q23 High Yield Survey and comment on the market outlook and trends in a Q&A format with George Flynn, Head of Credit at Wisealpha Technologies. They discuss our 4Q23 investor survey publication, covering investor positioning, sentiment, key return drivers, default and supply forecasts and relative-value opinions by geography, rating and sector in detail.

“Disruptors can ruin the status quo, but they can replace the status quo with something that is not sustainable because it doesn’t have a core business model. Streaming right now is in that space,” Aswath Damodaran, professor of finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University says on this month’s State of Distressed edition of the FICC Focus podcast. In this episode, Bloomberg Intelligence global credit strategy head Noel Hebert, distressed credit analyst Philip Brendel and bankruptcy litigation analyst Negisa Balluku discuss corporate credit’s resiliency amid negative seasonals and high rates. Then, Hebert and Brendel have an in-depth feature interview with Damodaran on a wide variety of valuation challenges, including inflation, distressed companies, disrupted media, dysfunctional governments and foreign conflict (7:50). Balluku rejoins in the last segment to review the latest developments for Hawaiian Electric, Alameda, Grayscale, Audacy and Diamond Sports (1:11:42).

In our latest FX Moment podcast, host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence chief G-10 FX strategist, and Stuart Paul, Bloomberg Economics' US economist, discuss possible US recession risks, the US economic outlook into 4Q and 2024 and associated downside risks for the dollar. Audrey and her colleague talk about how the US economy already may have started to turn, and how -- combined with a mid-term disinflation outlook -- 2024 Fed rate cuts may be contemplated after all, which could trigger yet another change in the FX narrative and give dollar downside a chance again. Audrey and Stuart also touch on US politics and how government shutdown risks could soon return as a market consideration and potentially become more of a dollar driver than in the past, with more of a negative effect.

“Your optimized portfolio isn't optimal if you can't trade it.” Paul Kamenski and Robert Lam, co-heads of credit for Man Numeric, join Noel Hebert and Sam Geier of Bloomberg Intelligence on the Credit Crunch podcast to talk about the evolution and outlook for systematic credit. Trade automation, training models and why systemic credit is still in it's early stages of growth. Credit Crunch is part of the FICC Focus podcast series. 

Steven Major, HSBC’s global head of fixed-income research, joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief US rates strategist Ira Jersey and BI senior rates strategy associate Will Hoffman to discuss some of the most controversial topics across global bond markets in this Macro Matters edition of the Bloomberg Intelligence FICC Focus podcast. The trio dive into the determinants of longer-run equilibrium interest rates and the relationship between supply and yields. They also touch on regulatory constraints on dealer-intermediation capabilities and relative value across global bond markets.

In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Pierre de Saab, Partner at Dominice to discuss the latest developments in the volatility landscape. Topics discussed includes interest-rate volatility, VIX risk premium, call overwriting strategies and zero-days-to-expiry options (ODTEs), which now make up more than 50% of the overall volume of SPX options traded.

In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Dan Hanson, Senior UK Economist. They discuss the Bank of England, economic outlook and market volatility.

Despite trillions being passed through recent bills to reduce inflation and spur infrastructure spending, neither goal has really been met. At first blush, the prospects of all that federal money being directed at much needed infrastructure improvements and repairs was music to the muni markets ears. However, that dream of being part of the funding solution has never really materialized and only added to the myriad of issues facing the tax-exempt market. Joining myself and Karen this month to discuss the many challenges the municipal market is facing is Hector Negroni, Founder and CEO of Foundation Credit. For those unfamiliar, Foundation is a leading alternative asset manager dedicated to municipal credit and infrastructure debt markets in the United States. Hector is no stranger to our markets, with a career spanning over 3 decades in investing proprietary trading, public/private financing, derivatives, and structured products.

“The 10-year Treasury ending the year around 4.2-4.3% seems fair, but the recent selloff has been overdone,” William Marshall, head of US rates strategy at BNP Paribas says. Marshall joins host Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief US interest rate strategist on the Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus Podcast to discuss his market views in the wake of the September FOMC meeting. The pair dissect recent yield moves across the curve, as well as underlying catalysts and narratives. These include a persistently high federal deficit, elevated Treasury issuance and potential sources of demand for securities amid a deluge of T-bill and coupon issuance. Marshall sees no broad liquidity pressures on funding markets via the impact of the Fed’s asset runoff, which could continue past his expectations for interest rate cuts beginning in June.

In this month’s State of Distressed Debt edition of the FICC Focus podcast, Bloomberg Intelligence global credit strategy head Noel Hebert and distressed credit analyst Philip Brendel discuss high yield’s and distressed’s uncanny strength through the summer amid higher rates. Then, bankruptcy litigation analyst Negisa Balluku and Brendel have an in-depth interview with Kris Hansen, co-chair of the financial restructuring group at Paul Hastings, on how “creditor-on-creditor violence” is a misnomer, the intersection of crypto and bankruptcy, Chapter 11 as a forum for resolving mass tort and his outlook for restructurings (6:10). Balluku, Brendel and Hebert wrap up with the latest developments for Johnson & Johnson, 3M, Alameda, Grayscale, Yellow Corp., Diamond Sports and National Cinemedia (1:22:09).

Should the US economy avoid a recession over the coming months as anticipated by the Bloomberg Economics team, the Federal Reserve may remain on hold for all of 2024, Bloomberg Intelligence Chief US Interest Rate Strategist Ira Jersey says on the latest episode of the Macro Matters podcast. The Fed may be forced to end asset runoff in 1H24, he says, as reserves become scarce. In addition, Jersey answers other common questions from buy-side investors during his recent California roadshow, including about the potential near-term impact of federal deficits on domestic rate markets. US Interest Rate Strategy Associate Will Hoffman views nuances to August’s monthly Treasury statement and the implications for issuance.

Emerging market currency volatility is on the rise, as the dovish tilt in monetary policy causes real yield differentials to converge with the US and Europe. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through episode, Shamaila Khan, Head of Emerging Markets & Asia-Pacific at UBS Asset Management Americas, joins Chief EM Fixed Income Strategist Damian Sassower to deliver her outlook on emerging market debt. From idiosyncratic risk in EM distressed debt to China’s struggling property sector, we discuss the opportunities and risks facing EM creditors.

Credit markets saw stupendous growth in socially responsible and green bonds from a variety of credits and many sustainability and ESG specialized funds and investment vehicles have taken off in the past four years. In this episode of our Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhimalingam, Chief European Credit Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, and Mitch Reznick, Head of Sustainable Fixed Income at Federated Hermes Limited, discuss the shades of sustainable bond and fund types: Sustainability, ESG, SRI, Green, GSS among others and differentiate them and address their performance and alpha vs. mainstream credit. They also discuss flows into such funds and supply of these securities in comparison to mainstream. Lastly, they discuss the various relevant global regulations, including stewardship.

In our latest FX Moment podcast, host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence chief G-10 FX strategist, and Stephen Chiu, BI chief Asia FX and rates strategist, look into how the recently announced plan for a larger BRICS has rekindled the de-dollarisation theme. Audrey and her colleague address the highly relevant economics and politics behind the BRICS extension and look into how this may impact de-dollarisation. In practice, expect limited impact for decades to come, with the dollar unchallenged on the International Monetary System (for now), and the euro arguably more of a challenger than the yuan in the near term.

Money has been leaking out of municipal mutual funds this year, but the same can’t be said for alternative products, such as exchange traded funds, though there’s been some recent cooling, especially in separately managed account platforms, an area we’ve spent much time exploring this year on Masters of the Muniverse. In this episode of the podcast, Andrew Clinton, CEO and founder of Clinton Investment Management, sits down with Bloomberg Intelligence’s Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamirano for an in-depth discussion about the muni market, recession expectations, his feelings post-Jackson Hole and the outlook for 4Q.

The economy is firing on all cylinders and continues to show positive momentum, says Lara Rhame, chief US economist at FS Investments. Rhame joins Macro Matters co-host and Bloomberg Intelligence chief US rates strategist Ira Jersey and senior US rates strategy associate Will Hoffman to discuss the major drivers of the US Treasury market. The trio examine how the Federal Reserve may respond to current and future economic conditions, and the impact of various outcomes across asset classes and the Treasury curve. They also discuss the likely path of fiscal policy and the potential implications of sustained deficit spending on longer-maturity Treasury performance.

The keys to evaluating structured credit are “the value of the assets, the value of the structure and the value of the option,” according to Brett Jefferson, founder, president and co-CIO of Hildene Capital, with $14 billion in assets under management. Jefferson and co-CIO Dushyant Mehra join Noel Hebert, Bloomberg Intelligence’s director of FICC research, and Sam Geier, senior credit strategy associate, on this Credit Crunch episode, part of the FICC Focus podcast series for an in-depth discussion on the value in TruPs, identifying the fulcrum in CLOs, mortgage-backed products and the benefits of diversification.

The Treasury market selloff throughout August was in part due to increased issuance, but largely driven by the market repricing the future path of monetary policy, TD Securities USA’s Chief US Interest Rate Strategist Gennadiy Goldberg says on this Macro Matters podcast episode hosted by Bloomberg Intelligence’s Chief US Interest Rate Strategist Ira Jersey. Goldberg discusses his views on the Treasury market, the future of global monetary-policy actions and investor expectations for the economy.  In this week’s Interest Rate Intro segment, US Interest Rate Strategy associate Will Hoffman asks Jersey about the BI Rates team’s recent research note, which highlighted what may come next for technical yield levels.

Credit markets have had a correction in the past month, across the board. It takes us to an interesting juncture where we ask if the correction has longer to go or is largely done, and which asset classes stand to benefit most in its aftermath. In this episode of our Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhimalingam, Chief European Credit Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, and Boris Okuliar, Co-Head of Global Liquid Credit at Ares Management, discuss the situation in global credit and the challenges of directional view after this correction. They discuss rates, yields, credit spreads and supply in detail. There's a particular focus on leveraged loans, high yield bonds, the impact of the CLO market and private lending.

In our latest FX Moment podcast, host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence chief G10 FX Strategist and Maeva Cousin, senior euro area economist at Bloomberg Economics, look into the euro and US near-term growth dynamics and how these may shape BI's euro-dollar outlook into year-end. We also touch on the euro-inflation outlook and European Central Bank's rate prospects for 2023 and 2024. For now, our positive euro-dollar relative growth differential outlook holds, but recent euro data have underwhelmed while US data have tended to overwhelm. The euro price action has been resilient thus far, though our strategists conclude this is no time for complacency.

Latin America central banks continue to focus on inflation, yet fiscal deficits remain elevated and growth is in decline. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast episode, Fernando Losada, Managing Director and Head of Latin America Sovereign Research at Oppenheimer, joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Chief EM Fixed Income Strategist Damian Sassower to deliver his outlook on Latin American debt markets, with a focus on Central America and the Caribbean. From tourist inflows and remittances to oil imports and climate change, we discuss the economic and fundamental risks that have the potential to affect fixed-income valuations.

Spreads of mortgage-backed securities may remain wide, though net and gross supply could remain depressed given interest rate and housing market dynamics, Bloomberg Intelligence’s Chief MBS Strategist Erica Adelberg says. Adelberg joins Macro Matters podcast host and BI’s Chief US Interest Rate Strategist Ira Jersey to share her view on relative value within the mortgage markets, compare MBS to corporate bonds and discuss how recent bank regulations may affect mortgage demand. You can access more of Adelberg’s research on the BI Mortgages Dashboard by typing {BI MORTN }.

The red-hot credit rally leaves debt markets vulnerable ahead of historically-worst months, Bloomberg Intelligence Global Credit Strategy head Noel Hebert, distressed credit analyst Philip Brendel and bankruptcy litigation analyst Negisa Balluku say on this month’s edition of the State of Distressed Debt podcast. Guest Ralph Brubaker, the James H.M. Sprayregen Professor of Law at the University of Illinois College of Law, joins Balluku for an in-depth feature interview on corporate tortfeasors’ persistent efforts to exploit Chapter 11 protections (6:50). Hebert, Balluku and Brendel wrap up the episode with the latest developments for Johnson & Johnson, Cineworld, Crypto and Diamond Sports (50:20). Related research: Ralph Brubaker, The Texas Two-Step and Mandatory Non-Opt-Out Settlement Powers (July 2022) Amici Curiae Brief of Bankruptcy Law Professors Ralph Brubaker, George W. Kuney, and Bruce A. Markell, In re Purdue Pharma (Mar. 2022)

The Bank of England stepped down the pace of tightening as it closes in on the peak but isn't quite yet done and remains highly data dependent. In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Dan Hanson, Bloomberg Senior UK Economist.

The re-risking with the market being chased higher has crushed equity volatility while the skew in rates at the back of the curve is toward higher yields. In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast on volatility, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Nancy Davis, Founder of Quadratic Capital Management. Discussion points include key themes from the rates and equity volatility markets. Find out more about Quadratic Capital Management here: http://www.ivoletf.com

The Federal Reserve may remain on hold for the rest of the year as inflation should moderate, Chief US Economist for Bloomberg Economics Anna Wong says on this Macro Matter’s edition of the FICC Focus Podcast. Wong joins host Ira Jersey, Chief US Interest Rate Strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence, to discuss her view on the economy and future Fed policy. Jersey mentions some investors are concerned about a reacceleration of inflation, to which Wong handicaps the possibility, but notes even if inflation does climb a bit again, the Fed might not have to hike rates further.  In this week’s Interest Rate Intro segment, US Interest Strategy Associate William Hoffman asks Jersey about his deficit and Treasury issuance forecast. Jersey notes additional Treasury coupon issuance may be announced at next week’s Treasury Refunding announcement.

In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Matt King, Founder of Satori Insights. They discuss the impact of central bank reserves on cross-asset markets.

Asset-based finance has moved nearer center stage in the fast growing private credit market, competing with corporate direct lending for attention. Castlelake’s Co-CEO and Chief Investment Officer Evan Carruthers joins hosts Noel Hebert, Bloomberg Intelligence’s director of FICC research, and Sam Geier, senior credit strategy associate, on this Credit Crunch podcast episode to talk about the current landscape and opportunity amid uncertainty. Turbulence in aviation finance and innovation in consumer, as well as the small and medium enterprise space are among topics discussed.

Green shoots are forming in emerging market debt as growth slows, inflation eases and the geopolitical climate turns more market friendly. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, Ilke Pienaar, Head of Emerging Market Fixed Income Sovereign Research at PineBridge Investments, joins Chief EM Fixed Income Strategist Damian Sassower to deliver her mid-year outlook on EM credit. She discusses the firm's key convictions across EM, with Asia high yield exhibiting improved fundamentals and attractive valuations.

BI global credit strategy head Noel Hebert, distressed credit analyst Philip Brendel and bankruptcy litigation analyst Negisa Balluku discuss how credit markets are "melting up" with equities, but that it may be fleeting. Noel and Phil also have an in-depth feature interview with John Pavelski, co-head of North America for the Carlyle Credit Opportunities Fund, on the possibilities created as the private credit market weathers a distressed cycle (10:30). Finally, Negisa, Noel and Phil discuss the latest developments in crypto bankruptcies, Audacy, Diamond Sports and J&J (1:04:30).

The landscape for municipal asset management has been changing over the past year, and there’s been lower beta options such as exchange traded funds and separately managed accounts. For those looking to expand or break into this space, scaling the business is the single largest pain point. Investortools’ Senior Vice President James Morris joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamirano on this episode of the Masters of the Muniverse podcast to discuss this challenge and highlight an off-the-shelf solution.

The Fed's nearing rate peak and evidence of a turning US economy should revive the bearish view of the US dollar in 2H. In our latest FX Moment podcast, host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence's chief G10 FX strategist, examines the outlook for the US and global economies and the implications for currencies with Solita Marcelli, chief investment officer Americas, UBS Global Wealth Management. In particular, Solita and Audrey acknowledge that beyond a structurally dollar-negative case that's not going away, a shifting US cyclical and inflation narrative and near Fed rate peak are giving dollar bears another chance in 2H, with $1.15 euro-dollar and 0.85 dollar-Swiss feasible into 2H and beyond.

European high yield has had just two defaults this year and the proportion of stressed and distressed bonds is under control after a positive 1H for returns. Will 3Q sustain the 1H gains and when do we see a default wave, if any? Listen to hear Mahesh Bhimalingam, Chief European Credit Strategist, Bloomberg Intelligence discuss the results of the 3Q23 High Yield Survey and comment on the market outlook and trends in a Q&A format with George Flynn, Head of Credit at Wisealpha Technologies. They discuss our 3Q23 survey publication, in detail, covering investor positioning, sentiment, key return drivers, default and supply forecasts and relative-value opinions by geography, rating and sectors in detail.

The Treasury yield curve may remain inverted for quite a while, but bull steepening could begin as the Federal Reserve finished its interest rate hikes, Bloomberg Intelligence’s Chief US Interest Rate Strategist says in this Macro Matter’s edition of the FICC Focus podcast.  Jersey provides his short- and longer-term view of the rate markets, mentioning how the real federal funds rate may peak at about 2.5% if consensus inflation estimates and market pricing are realized. Jersey is also joined by US Interest Rate Strategy Associate Will Hoffman to discuss the rebuild of the Treasury General Account (the government’s checking account held at the Fed), and how T-bill issuance has thus far been primarily funded by lower use of the Fed’s reverse repurchase agreement facility. They also talk about how Fed liabilities move around during the TGA rebuild, and Jersey gives his expectation of when the Fed runoff might end due to bank reserves reaching their “tipping point.”

After central banks gathered in Portugal at the ECB Forum earlier this week, a turn in European inflation and a strong 1Q GDP revision in the US caused a sell off in developed market sovereign debt. Bloomberg Intelligence’s Chief US Rates Strategist Ira Jersey is joined by his European counterpart Huw Worthington on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast. Huw gives his outlook for inflation and central bank policy actions in Europe and the UK, while Jersey highlights his shift in view that the Federal Reserve may hike further. In this episode’s Interest Rate Intro segment, US Interest Rate Strategy Associate Will Hoffman asks Jersey about the Fed’s bank stress tests and how they may be affecting markets. Jersey gives a summary of the tests and his view that bank compliance has depressed risk taking and therefore liquidity.

Structured credit markets have evolved into a multi-trillion dollar asset class, one that we dive into in the latest episode of Credit Crunch, part of the FICC Focus podcast series. Waterfall Asset Management’s Managing Partner and Cofounder Jack Ross, one of the pioneers in asset-based securities, joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Director of FICC Research Noel Hebert and Senior Credit Strategy Associate Sam Geier for an in-depth discussion about the transformation of the asset class over Ross’ storied career, areas of concern in commercial real estate and consumer spending, as well as how the burgeoning private credit space is influencing the investment landscape.  This recorded discussion is not intended to be and does not constitute an offer of Waterfall Asset Management, LLC’s (“Waterfall”) investment advisory services. The information, statements, commentary, views, and opinions (collectively, the “Commentary”) provided in this discussion are general in nature, may reflect the perspective of the individual rather than Waterfall and the Commentary is not intended to be and should not be construed as the provision of investment advice by Waterfall, to that listener or generally, and do not result in any listener being considered a client or customer of Waterfall. Any discussion of the past performance of any investment, sector, or market is not indicative of any future results. Further, the Commentary is as of the date of recording and may not be current at the time that listener hears the discussion. Waterfall does not undertake any obligation whatsoever to provide any form of update, amendment, change or correction to the Commentary.

The Bank of England remains highly data-dependent, re-accelerating to a 50-bp hike "at this particular meeting" given the upside inflation surprises. The wide difference between actual inflation data releases vs. consensus keeps volatility elevated at the front end of the yield curve. The flattening of the curve reflects the risk to growth and increased pricing of cuts. In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Dan Hanson, Senior UK Economist.

Shorecliff Asset Management’s Grant Nachman talks about the intellectually-enriching challenges of launching a new firm in this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Credit Crunch podcast. Grant joins BI’s chief US credit strategist Noel Hebert and his colleague Sam Geier to discuss Shorecliff’s full-cycle credit-investing strategy, the benefits of having a lean team, a bottom-up due-diligence process, the ideal size for the strategy and more.

An improving inflation outlook alongside weaker cross-asset volatility and more moderate global growth is contributing to the bullish narrative in EM local government debt. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, Phoenix Kalen, Head of Emerging Market Research at Societe Generale, joins Chief EM Fixed Income Strategist Damian Sassower to deliver her mid-year outlook on EM local currencies and debt. She discusses the firm's key EM trading themes, and highlights various structural, idiosyncratic and tactical opportunities.

The Federal Reserve may not hike the additional 50 bps shown in the infamous “Dot Plot” at the June monetary policy meeting, Bloomberg Economics’ Chief US Economist Anna Wong remarks. She joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Chief US Rates Strategist Ira Jersey on this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast to recap the FOMC meeting and discuss her views for the future. Wong still expects a mild recession in 2H, thinks the Fed will maintain interest rates near the peak and that balance-sheet reduction will continue into next year. She also believes Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference was relatively neutral, though the dot plot was hawkish.

The stage is set for municipals to look better vs. other fixed income in 2023-2024. Though fund flows remain a concern, the asset class’ ability to provide tax-exempt income exceeding inflation remains a key feature, especially if recessionary pressures increase. Parametric’s Nisha Patel joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamirano on this episode of the Masters of the Muniverse FICC Focus podcast to discuss the advantages of technology-driven systematic solutions and some of the strategies used to maximize returns. Patel also shares how not all ladder strategies need to be passive.