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Latest BTC iShares iBoxx USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF News and Updates

The Importance of Rebalancing Your Portfolio
Rebalancing your portfolio means bringing the portfolio back to the asset allocation levels specified in the financial plan. Not rebalancing can expose you to higher risk.
Rate hike horizon: September’s jobs report was largely positive
After September’s strong jobs numbers, a Fed rate hike could be on the horizon early next year. Russ explains two equity market implications.

Muni Bond Investment Opportunities in the Current Environment
BUTCHER: Thank you. Do you see any specific opportunities today? COLBY: I think there are two fairly distinct opportunities for investors to consider. One is based on interest rates and interest rate outlooks. The other is based on risk that investors might be willing to assume on a credit basis. From an interest rate perspective, […]
Why issuers stayed away from high-yield debt markets
Issuance slowed to a trickle when market conditions were unfavorable in August. A number of transactions were either postponed, re-priced, or withdrawn from the market altogether. There was an increase in high-yield debt risk perceptions.
Why smaller oil and gas firms are foraying into high yield debt
High yield debt markets saw $6 billion worth of new supply issued across 12 transactions in the week ending October 24.

Clearing up a common misconception about bond ETF management
A bond ETF is managed by a human (sometimes several). A common misconception about bond ETFs is that they simply hold all the securities in the index they track.

High Yield Offers Attractive Potential in a Yield-Starved World
In an environment of generally decent, albeit recently disappointing, growth and gently rising yields, high yield offers attractive potential in a yield-starved world.

Comparing ETNs with ETFs: The must-know pros of ETNs
ETNs are free of tracking errors, and investors can defer taxation until they mature or are sold.

Structural Considerations Could Mean Lower Yields in the Future
Many structural considerations are likely to keep yields low in the future. Demand for Treasuries and bonds is likely to be more than the supply in the next two years.

Must-know: High yield fund flows regaining strength, time to dip back in?
After several weeks of record outflows, investors start regaining trust Fund flows gauge where most investors are moving their money. While following this indicator assumes momentum strategies work, in weeks of high inflows, there will be a delay between the time when funds come in and when managers can invest them in assets, so they […]
A guide to Yellen’s Delphic speech and the Odyssean FOMC guidance
In this article, we’ll discuss how the Fed’s Odyssean and Delphic guidance in March has impacted financial markets.
Overview: High-yield debt market borrowers set new 2014 records
Despite a holiday-shortened week, issuance volumes for leveraged loans surged by almost 49%, week-over-week, to $21.3 billion.
Why investors piled into junk bond funds
High market volatility usually increases risk perceptions for junk bonds (PHB). This increases spreads and yields. As a result, bond prices decrease.

Why High Yield Bond Market Issuance Gained Traction Last Week
High yield bond issuance activity gained traction last week on improved Market sentiment. The total US dollar-denominated issuance of high yield debt is $60.8 billion in 2016 YTD.

When geopolitical risk takes precedence over interest rate risk
The total returns on municipal debt came in at 3.32% in the first quarter of 2014, as measured by the Barclays Municipal Bond Index.
Why Kocherlakota says price targeting beats inflation targeting
Along with the two suggestions mentioned in Part 6 of this series, Narayana Kocherlakota also dropped in two additional suggestions for improving the FOMC framework statement.

How to Ballast Your Portfolio with Bonds
Municipal bonds (or munis) were the best performers in 2015 with returns of 3.2%. Meanwhile, investment-grade corporate bonds (LQD), long-dated Treasuries (TLT), and high-yield bonds (HYG) all gave negative returns in 2015.

Where Can You Find Relative Value within Fixed Income?
Where’s the relative value within fixed income? High yield bonds appear relatively attractive.

How Has Purchasing High-Yield Debt Helped AngloGold?
AngloGold’s net debt fell by 32% in 1H16 over 1H15, mostly due to the sale of its Cripple Creek & Victor mine to Newmont Mining for $820 million.

Leveraged Loans Issuance Reaches Its Highest 2015 Level
The US leveraged loans market saw an allocation of ~$19.0 billion worth of senior loans across 22 transactions in the week to May 8.
Why policymakers favor reducing MBS and Treasuries reinvestment
The Fed also embarked on three rounds of quantitative easing (or QE). Now, the Fed is looking to decrease the size of its bloated balance sheet.
Why the FOMC believes that credit conditions are still strong
Easier borrowing conditions stimulate business investment among firms. Higher investment would generate employment and benefit firms’ revenues and profits.
Exposure to junk bonds: How much should you hedge?
Junk bonds are high yield bonds issued by below–investment grade corporations. Due to the low ratings and high risk of default attached to these bonds, they’re popularly called “junk bonds.”
Overview: High-yield bond markets since the Great Recession
High-yield, or junk-rated, bonds have higher yields than investment-grade bonds—like U.S. Treasuries and high-quality corporate debt. They’re issued by borrowers with higher credit risk—for example, with a lower ability to service the debt issued. Investors need a higher return to compensate for the higher risks involved.
Unemployment and discouraged workers: The improvement continues
This article considers the halfway mark improvement in the U-4 labor data and the implication for fixed income investors.
Why Fisher and Plosser disagreed with the FOMC policy motion
Richard Fisher believes that the Fed needs to tighten policy. This is based on the improved labor market and inflation outlook. He also believes that continued monetary accommodation is causing signs of “financial excess” in certain asset classes. He spoke earlier about signs of froth in high-yield bond (JNK) (HYG) markets.
Why are junk bond yields the lowest ever on record?
The BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Master II Index increased by 0.34% over the week ending June 20, and is up by 5.64% so far this year (up to June 20).

Why Was High-Yield Bond Issuance Slow Last Week?
Last week brought the total US dollar-denominated issuance of high-yield debt to $66.5 billion in 2016 YTD—47.0% lower than the same period in 2015.

Break prices confirming weakness in the bond high yield market
The price at which bonds are breaking for trading in the secondary market shows a clear downtrend year to date. The price at which bonds are placed with initial investors is given by the original issue discount (OID) and sets the bond’s yield to maturity. The break price, on the other hand, refers to the […]

Jeffrey Gundlach: The Junk Bond Market Needs Higher Oil Prices
Jeffrey Gundlach also warned about the high-yield market (HYG) (JNK). He said the “clock is running out” for energy companies (IEZ) due to low oil (USO) prices.
Why investors are turning to corporate bond ETFs
Investors seeking exposure to investment grade or high yield corporate debt have increasingly been using fixed income ETFs.

After the Fallout from Brexit, the Fed’s Hands Are Tied Again
With the Brexit fallout, the Federal Reserve will most likely delay the next interest rate hike until the end of this year or even next year.
Why does the Fed matter? Because its policies move the market
With monetary policy a huge driver of investment performance, all investors need to be fluent in “Fedspeak.”

Where Are Oil Prices Heading?
Oil prices are expected to be lower for longer. This is bad news for high yield bond funds (HYG) (JNK) in the United States.

High yield issuance continues to increase, spike likely unsustainable
The large high yield bond issuance was the second largest over the past two months and the highest in number of issuances Weekly issuance can help gauge both the demand and supply of the high yield bond market. New bonds increase the supply available to investors in the secondary market and the demand given indicates […]
Bear strategy: Profit from rising rates with fixed income ETFs
Investors could consider hedging their short-term duration risk (HYG: 3.98 years, JNK: 4.20 years) with a short position in longer-dated bonds.
Why is Puerto Rico in hot water over its debt obligations?
Puerto Rico’s labor force participation rate was about 40% in April, 2014.

What Does the Flattening Yield Curve Indicate for Investors?
Bond markets are experiencing rising yields due to higher economic growth expectations. However, the 10-Year Treasury yield was still low at 2.4% on March 29, 2017
Hedging: You can profit from rising rates with fixed income ETFs
Should interest rates rise equally in the five-year part of the yield curve as the 20-year part of the yield curve, HYG and JNK would likely decline roughly 3.98% and 4.20% in value.
Why scheduling the rate hike is a balancing act
Since 2008, the Fed’s monetary policy has been extremely accommodative. However, as the recovery progresses, there are increasing calls for policy normalization.
Why did investors give US debt markets the thumbs down?
Volatility, or the index commonly known as the “fear factor,” surged over 34% to 17.03 in the week ending August 1—this was the highest level in almost four months.
Why Kocherlakota concludes that the FOMC is underperforming
Even among those who have jobs, the fraction of people working part-time but who would like to work more hours is higher than the historical average.

Ultra Easy Monetary Policy: Major Catalyst for the Bull Market
Monetary policy has been one of the main catalysts of this bull market. These returns were mainly aided by the ultra easy monetary policy.
Must-know: Charles Evans discusses monetary policy in Istanbul
The Fed’s main policy tool, the funds rate, has been at near zero levels since December, 2008.

When The Net Asset Value Of A Bond ETF Differs From Market Price
The Intraday Indicative Value gives us a more real-time value than the bond ETF’s NAV. It’s considered an implied value of an ETF.

How INC Can Help Balance a Fixed-Income Portfolio
The correlation between the S&P 500 Index and Treasuries has been -0.55 over the last five years.
AAA and AA credit versus the below-investment-grade Sprint
This article considers the trade-offs between high-quality, low-yielding fixed income opportunities and lower-quality higher yields in the current improving economic environment.

Hanesbrands Issued the Most Junk Bonds in the Week to May 6
Hanesbrands issued Ba2/BB rated dollar-denominated junk bonds worth $1.8 billion on May 3. It will use the proceeds of the loan for refinancing purposes.

Why Does Fixed Income Look Promising?
Under the current uncertain economic circumstances, investors searching for higher yield might turn to fixed income.

How Can You Add Carry to Your Portfolio?
Adding carry to your portfolio in a low-return scenario could cushion your portfolio.
Must know: Why junk bond funds are in vogue again
Secondary market activity in high yield debt mutual funds High yield debt (HYG) mutual funds recorded their second consecutive weekly inflow. Net flows into junk bond (JNK) funds came in at ~$1.6 billion in the week ending October 31. Net flows into high yield bond (PHB) mutual funds are down by ~$2.3 billion so far […]

What’s AngloGold Thinking about Dividends as Its Balance Sheet Improves?
In 2015, AngloGold sold a mine to Newmont for $820 million. It used the proceeds to buy a part of its high-yield bond, which lowered its net debt.
Why high yield bonds offer an investment opportunity
High yield bonds have come under pressure lately, and as a result, are now looking relatively attractive. Spreads recently widened out to the highest level in a year.
Why did new high yield bond issuance spike last week?
High yield issuance last week rebounded sharply from the past two weeks’ lows. Issuers took advantage of strong market conditions for debt offered at relatively low borrowing costs.

Areas of Relative Value within Fixed Income
For investors, the implications are not to load up on bonds, but to tactically look for areas of relative value within fixed income.

Current High Volatility Regime Will Likely Persist
The high volatility regime will likely be the norm in the future. State Street observed that the US market has already clocked 42 highly volatile days in 2015.
Must-know: Where will the doves and hawks find common ground?
The pursuit of higher employment, in terms of both labor and resources, often involves a loose monetary policy.
High-quality fixed income versus BBB+ and BB: Verizon & Sprint
While the short duration aspect of both JNK and HYG might seem attractive to investors wary of rising rates, investors should bear in mind that both HYG and JNK also have significant credit risk.

Why is the high yield bond market seeing so much fresh supply?
Strong weeks of issuance signify an overall bullish market. High yield issuance for last week was at its strongest so far in 2014.

US Stock Indexes Rally with Japan’s Stimulus and Robust Jobs Data
The three US stock indexes that we review in this weekly series rose from July 5–12, 2016. Robust US jobs data boosted investor sentiment and eased the fear of an economic slowdown.

Who will replace Bernanke as the next Fed Chairman? (Part 3)
Continued from Part 2 Because Bernanke will step down, there’s great speculation on who will replace him So who is it likely to be the next Bernanke? The case for Summers Between the two, Summers certainly has more excitement building around him than Yellen. Summers also has Wall Street credibility—at least more so than Yellen. […]

A Look at Popular Post-Brexit Investments
The uncertain global environment created after the Brexit vote made investors hope for a perpetual low rate environment. The prospect of further easing from central banks in the developed markets has spurred strong demand for government debt.

Where Are Bond Markets Headed?
Rising US-China trade tensions have caused all assets, and especially bond markets, to move considerably over the last few sessions.

Investors Look to Fallen Angel High Yield Bonds for Value
The start of 2016 has been marked by an increase in the quantum of fallen angel bonds in the high-yield bond market (HYG) (JNK).

Building with Buffer: The Case for Bonds
Bonds and stocks are negatively correlated. This is why bonds can act as a ballast in your portfolio, and thus the case for bonds is still strong while building with buffer.

How High Yield Emerging Market Bonds Can Offer Hidden Value
HY EM bonds currently offer higher yields than both high yield US corporate bonds (HYG) (JNK) and high EM sovereign bonds.
Recommendation: Look to select areas of emerging market debt
Select areas of the EM debt sector hold good potential, as many of these countries exhibit low leverage levels and are currently funded through year-end.

How Various Asset Classes Compare Using The Risk-Return Metric
The risk-return metric for ten-year Treasuries (IEF) are lowest, but also the safest, with a paltry 1.3% volatility and with an average yield of 4.1%.

Is the simple life cycle model practical in the current scenario?
Being a large capitalist economy with relatively smoothly functioning markets, some degree of inequality is expected.

Why Higher Correlations Between Risky Assets Don’t Bode Well
Increasing correlations between risky assets could leave your portfolio vulnerable.

Junk Bond Issuance Was Dominated by First Data Corporation
E-commerce and payment solutions provider First Data Corporation (FDC) issued junk bonds worth $3.4 billion on October 29. This was the largest issue of October.
Why the issuance for high-yield bonds was dropped
After rising sharply the previous week, the issuance for the high-yield bonds dropped to $8.6 billion for the week ending on May 16 compared to $10 billion for the week ending on May 9.

US Stock Indexes Almost Flat after Release of FOMC Minutes
The three US equity stock indexes we review in this weekly series were mostly flat from August 11–18, 2016. This came after the minutes from the July 26–27 FOMC meeting.
Must-know: Fisher’s stance at future FOMC meetings this year
Fostering price stability is one of the Fed’s most important goals.
Must-know: Why did firms report a sharp spike in wages in May?
Manufacturing growth appears to be steady in the Fifth District. Although new orders declined sharply month-on-month, firms remained upbeat for business prospects.

Risk-adjusted returns on high yield bond ETFs at par with the market
Know how XLY outperformed rest of the ETFs on risk-adjusted basis, closely followed by DEF.

Leveraged Loans Issuance Reaches Highest Level in 2015
The US leveraged loans market saw an allocation of $14.0 billion worth of senior loans across 15 transactions in the week ended May 1. This was 38.3% higher than the week before.
Must-know: How the Fed may deal with its bloated balance sheet
The Fed’s balance sheet size has bloated to $4.3 trillion as on May 14, 2014, compared to pre-crisis level of $870 billion seen on August 1, 2007.
Improving consumer confidence suggests better capital spending
Consumer confidence, while low, is improving. During the first half of 2014, the Conference Board’s measure of consumer expectations averaged a little below 82, a material improvement from the previous four years.
April FOMC: Are you ready for clues of the Fed’s new guidance?
This week, the Fed’s third Federal Open Market Committee (or FOMC) meeting of the year will be held on April 29–30—always a market-moving event.

Why Elliott Management Might Be in Trouble
Last week, Elliott Management filed its 13F for the first quarter of 2020. In the last quarter, the hedge fund’s AUM was worth around $73.15 billion.

The difference between High Yield Bond ETFs and Investment Grade Bond ETFs
The corporate bond market is divided into two broad categories: the high grade market and the high yield market.

The Difference between Corporate Bonds and Treasuries
Bond investors should understand the difference between Corporate Bonds and Treasuries. Below is a list of the key differences between the two.

Jeffrey Gundlach: How to Survive the Market Zigzags in 2019
Jeffrey Gundlach expects 2019 to continue to be a volatile year. The last quarter of 2018 was quite volatile after a prolonged calm in the markets.

D.E. Shaw & Co.: Where Is David Shaw Bullish?
At the end of Q3 2019, D.E. Shaw & Co.’s total portfolio of publicly traded securities was worth around $81.2 billion.

High-Yield Bonds Are Turning Out to Be the Real Winners
High-yield bonds gained popularity due to higher yields compared to Treasury bonds, whose yields were being pushed down by the Fed’s interest rate policy.

Divided Opinions about the Fed’s Rate Hike Procrastination
The December 2015 rate hike was the first since the 2008 global meltdown. Now the Fed is hinting at the first rate hike of the year to come in December 2016.

Connection Between Equities And High Yield Bonds
Equities and high yield bonds perform well when the economy is improving, and both underperform when the economy is slumping.
Fiscal policy changes US investors much watch out for
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the US has to spend ~$3.6 trillion by 2020 to make needed infrastructure improvements. This should mean more municipal bonds (MUB) will be issued to help finance these projects.
Credit risk: Why high-yield bonds act like equities
High-yield debt could do well, but there are risks. The Fed shifting toward more contractionary monetary policy poses two risks to high-yield debt.
Hawks and doves: Why Fed-watching isn’t for the birds
The FOMC is made up of hawks and doves, and their balance could affect future policy. Investors who follow the Fed need be able to tell the differences.

High yield bonds, the pain continues and will only get worse
The fund flows for last week once again plummeted as investors remove cash from bonds ahead of the FOMC meeting. Fund flows are key in determining the sentiment of investors towards a given asset class. Weekly fund flows measure how much cash investors put into and remove from mutual funds focused on investing in high […]

High yield fund flows stumble, demand side may be getting weak
High yield bond flows for last week posted the first outflow in five weeks, possibly signaling weak investor confidence Fund flows are the best indicator of investor demand in the high yield bond market. Naturally, an increase in investor demand is reflected in increased bond prices and lower yields. When demand falters, issuance is diminished […]
How bond prices, interest rates, and credit spreads correlate
Bond prices and interest rates have an inverse relationship. If an interest rate increases, the price on a bond declines, and vice versa.
Why credit risk is an essential value driver of high yield bonds
Bonds are highly sensitive to credit risk—other than U.S. Treasury securities, which are more prone to interest risk. Credit risk hugely varies.
Spread risk: Why credit ratings are a key risk determinant
Credit ratings assess the credit-worthiness of a borrower and assign a grade based on the borrower’s business operation and financial stability.
High yield debt issuance resurges in the primary market
New issue volumes for high yield debt rose 13.3% week-over-week to $6.8 billion across nine issues in the week ending October 31. Issuance had come in at $6 billion across 12 deals in the week ended October 24.
An investor’s guide to the US leveraged financial market
According to the Securities Industry and Financial Market Association, SIFMA, the total U.S. fixed income market size is about $38.6 trillion.

Comparing leveraged loans and high yield bonds: Credit rating
Credit rating measures the credit-worthiness of a debtor with respect to its financial and operational stability. Rating agencies such as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s specialize in rating credit to government agencies and corporates.
Comparing leveraged loans and high yield bonds: Key distinctions
Leveraged loans (BKLN) are almost always secured or backed by a specific pledged asset or some form collateral. On the other hand, high yield bonds (JNK) may be secured or unsecured.