Leveraged loans

That's pushed secondary leveraged loan prices near highs not seen in months as investors flush with cash seek out supply, leading borrowers to stream into both loan and junk bond markets.

Some new loan sales, as well as transactions designed to extend the due dates on existing debt, have also been pushed to the sidelines.

Bank underwriters across the U.S. and Europe are pulling sales and pausing future ones amid tepid demand. Barclays Plc recently shelved a pair of loans for Ineos Enterprises and Russell Investments, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. yanked a deal for Agiliti Health.

Debt markets are increasingly sorting US leveraged loans into two categories: money good, and distressed.

Investors brace for more FTX-like blowouts in the private equity industry and expect a good year for investment grade credit, survey shows.

A bank club led by Morgan Stanley has posted the steepest discount on a leveraged loan so far this year as Wall Street institutions struggle to lock down buyers for risky debt amid mounting recession fears. 

After a colossally “brutal” period in the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak last year, a recent report from Kroll Bond Rating Agency noted that business development corporations mostly rebounded by year-end 2020 to bring a sense of renewed optimism into the alternative-lending space.

Investment Management Corp. of Ontario is investing $400 million to a customized portfolio, with the goal of capitalizing on Are’s all-weather approach, taking advantage of opportunistic dislocations and market inefficiencies. The remaining $100 million will be allocated to the flagship Ares Pathfinder fund.

More opportunistic borrowers may come as investors continue to pour money into U.S. leveraged loan funds, which have seen the longest positive streak since 19 weeks between February and June 2018.

The difference between yields on investment-grade debt and junk bonds doesn’t bode well. It’s a sign that leverage in the system is rising.