French and UK politics generated most headlines in recent weeks -- and France's political conundrum has yet to be solved -- but US politics are likely to take center stage and dictate the dollar's fortunes in the run-up to the Nov. 5 elections. Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence's chief G-10 FX strategist, talks to BI's senior government analyst Nathan Dean about the near-term political agenda and what considerations may dominate when it comes to finalizing the Democrats' candidate. Nathan and Audrey also investigate how a second Trump administration may affect the dollar cyclically-- bullish via trade plus fiscal and monetary policy -- and structurally -- any tilt toward isolationism would be negative for the dollar in the longer term.

US Supreme Court Justice Brett M Kavanaugh would have a “great career as a restructuring professional,” according to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill law professor Melissa B. Jacoby, as his Purdue Pharma 54-page dissent mirrored many bankruptcy lawyers’ skepticism regarding the US trustee’s arguments. In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s State of Distressed Debt podcast, part of the FICC Focus series, BI bankruptcy litigation analyst Negisa Balluku interviews Jacoby, author of the new book Unjust Debts, on the impact of the Supreme Court’s Purdue decision on mass tort bankruptcies, including lingering questions about the future significance of consensual third-party releases (6:45). Earlier in the podcast, BI’s Phil Brendel and Noel Hebert discuss how the corporate credit market appears immune to geopolitical risks that don’t alter rate expectations. This episode concludes with all three discussing the latest developments in bankruptcy courts and distressed situations, including Incora, Gol Airlines, Mallinckrodt and Diamond Sports (50:15).

A lot has changed in the world of munis over the past 40 years, but don’t take our word for it. Joining hosts Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamiranoon the June edition of Masters of the Muniverse is Joe Mysak of Bloomberg News, retiring this month after 40-plus years of covering public finance. In this month’s episode, we discuss Joe’s storied career at Bloomberg, how the muni marke thas changed and what to expect for the second half of the year. To help us bid him farewell, we’re also joined by a few special guests.

Watching the household survey portion of the Employment Situation report may be a better indicator of the economy, Stuart Paul of Bloomberg Economics says on this edition of the Bloomberg Intelligence FICC Focus Podcast. Paul joins host Ira Jersey, BI chief US interest rate strategist, to discuss recent economic data trends, the disconnect between surveys and hard data, upcoming data and the BE outlook for monetary policy. Paul says he believes US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell may be somewhat dovish at the semiannual monetary policy report to Congress, and could use the Jackson Hole symposium to signal a September interest rate cut.

Carry has been the primary driver of EM risk premia in recent years, yet the landscape may be shifting as growth improves, inflation recedes and geopolitical uncertainty takes hold. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, Managing Director of Emerging Markets at TCW Penny Foley joins Bloomberg Intelligence Chief EM Credit Strategist Damian Sassower to discuss demand for idiosyncratic carry as investors look to EM for uncorrelated streams of future income. Foley and Sassower touch on election risk, foreign positioning, growth dynamics and central-bank policy divergence.

Diversification, lower default rates and elevated yields are just a few of the features of today’s collateralized loan obligation (CLO) landscape, says Senior Managing Director and Head of Structured Credit at Pretium Jerry Ouderkirk. He joins Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on this episode of Credit Crunch to discuss the asset class’ current state and its evolution over nearly two decades. The dialog touches on what backdrops drive primary vs. secondary market allocations, default expectations, loan and CLO dynamics, among other topics.

Citadel and MFN competing to fund an unsecured junior DIP financing was just one of the "remarkable" aspects of Yellow Corp's ongoing bankruptcy, according to its Chief Restructuring Officer Matt Doheny. The North Country Capital's founder and president sat with Bloomberg Intelligence's (BI) Phil Brendel to share his philosophies on distressed investing, derived from a wide-ranging career in law, finance, and politics. They dive into two of the most fascinating bankruptcy cases of our time -- Yellow Corp and FTX (5:30). Prior to that, Phil and Noel Hebert of BI discuss the high yield market's strength despite some serious headwinds presented by a "higher for longer" environment. The podcast concludes with BI's Negisa Balluku joining Noel and Phil to tackle the latest developments in bankruptcy courts and distressed situations, including Red Lobster, WeWork, Rite Aid, Diamond Sports, J&J, Yellow, Rackspace, Genesis, and FTX (49:50).

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the Fed are conflicted on economic data, says Morgan Stanley’s Global Head of Marco Strategy Matt Hornbach in this edition of the Bloomberg Intelligence FICC Focus Podcast. Hornbach joins host and BI Chief US Interest Rate Strategist Ira Jersey to discuss the G3+ central bank, currency and interest-rate outlook. Though the totality of recent US economic data has been very confusing, Hornbach thinks a clear trend will soon emerge. The Morgan Stanley base case is for the Fed to start cutting rates in September and do so at each meeting until mid-2025 before stopping. Such an outcome would cause the 10-year Treasury to rally to 3.75%, he said.

Credit markets had a strong nine months of rally, particularly in spreads, although there were yield blips. As the environment changes with rate cuts, led by the ECB, are credit spreads too tight, despite low defaults? Is the rally justified on expected rate cuts for the rest of 2024? In this episode of our Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhimalingam, Chief European Credit Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, and Axel Potthof, Head of High Yield at Fisch Asset Management, discuss the state of credit after the first ECB cut and the long rally. They discuss relative value across junk, high grade and loans, fund flows, defaults, rate cuts and yield-curve views in detail. They also address CLOs and their support for loans, while on private credit, they ask if it is taking anything away from public markets.

In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Matthew Tym, Head of Equity Derivatives Trading at Cantor Fitzgerald. Discussion includes the US presidential election and impact of yield enhancement using options on index volatility.

The Bank of Canada's 25-bp June rate cut and statement bolster the view that dollar bears tired of waiting for the Fed could retain the loonie-bear view until a more-dovish US move unfolds, according to the latest FX Moment podcast. Host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence's chief G-10 FX strategist, talks to Stuart Paul, US and Canada economist at Bloomberg Economics, about the BoC and Fed near-term dynamics and currency implications. Canada's more-advanced economic cycle vs. the US justifies the early policy action from the BoC and validates the yield-driven loonie bearish case against the US dollar, euro and sterling. Given the Canadian-US dollar proxy qualities, these views will most likely hold when euro-dollar and/or sterling-dollar bulls return.

“You’ve come off a period of 15-plus years of a zero interest-rate policy that has allowed politicians to believe that you can spend money at no cost,” says Patrick McMahon, co-founder and CIO of MKP Capital Management, “And we continue to do that, but now in a tremendously different interest-rate environment.” In this podcast, McMahon is joined by podcast host and Bloomberg Intelligence’s Chief US Rates Strategist Ira Jersey and Associate US Rates Strategist Will Hoffman. The trio discuss the state of the US economy and potential paths forward for monetary policy. They also dive into shifts in global economic conditions and the likelihood of interest-rate correlations breaking down as monetary-policy cycles begin to diverge.

Higher-for-longer rates, along with elevated municipal-bond issuance, may signal that attractive entry points for muni investors are here for a bit longer. Though reinvestment season is typically a slower time for new issuance, this is an election year, which may mean issuers will want to avoid the uncertainties that come with every election season. Fund flows and rich ratios are concerns, but the asset class’s ability to provide low-risk, tax-exempt income remains a key feature, especially if inflation pressures increase. Joining hosts Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamirano on the May edition of Masters of the Muniverse is Nisha Patel from Parametric. In this month’s episode, we discuss the market outlook for the second half of the year and how technology overlays are driving Parametric’s strategies to help maximize returns.

NAV finance has been at the forefront of innovation in private credit markets, seeing tremendous growth since the start of the pandemic, when private equity funds began turning to alternative sources of funding. Pierre-Antoine de Selancy, co-founder and managing partner at 17Capital, joins Bloomberg Intelligence's Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on Credit Crunch to walk through how he's seen the evolution of the space. The conversation touches on the importance of fund-manager track records, use of proceeds, 17Capital's partnership with Oaktree, and a variety of other topics. Credit Crunch is part of the FICC Focus podcast series.

Geopolitical uncertainty is causing many developed and emerging market governments to invoke protectionist measures, and this new world order looks similar to the one that predated globalization. In this month’s episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, Cooperatieve Rabobank Cross-Asset Strategist Christian Lawrence joins BI Chief EM Fixed-Income Strategist Damian Sassower to share his views on monetary policy, foreign-exchange carry, global growth and real-yield differentials. They also discuss central bank divergence, foreign positioning, inflation dynamics and option volatility. This podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.

Stickier inflation is here to say, and we probably aren’t returning to 2% in the near term, says Jerome Schneider, managing director and leader of short-term portfolio management and funding at PIMCO. Schneider is joined by host and Bloomberg Intelligence Chief US Interest Rate Strategist Ira Jersey and Associate US Interest Rate Strategist Will Hoffman to discuss the state of short-term liquidity and money markets. The trio examine long- and short-term evolutions of the market, portfolio composition and the regulatory environment. They also wade into asset allocation, investor behavior and Federal Reserve policy.

High yield had a great 4Q rally in rates and spreads, which filtered into 1Q gains as defaults stayed low. In Europe, the index default rate stands at 0.95% and the proportion of stressed and distressed bonds has come down, while it's higher in the US. Will 2Q sustain the gains, and why? Listen to Mahesh Bhimalingam, Bloomberg Intelligence's Chief European Credit Strategist, discuss the results of the 2Q24 High Yield Survey with Fiona Hagdrup, Head of Leveraged Finance Funds and PM at M&G Investments, along with market outlook and trends in a Q&A format. They discuss our 2Q 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. They also discuss how leveraged loan prospects compare with junk.

Investigations into debtors’ pre-bankruptcy machinations are evolving toward a “consensus model” where committees of independent directors are cooperating with unsecured committees, according to Julia Winters, a partner in Katten’s commercial litigation practice. She shared her perspective on corporate governance amid financial turmoil, when Chapter 11 examiners make sense and the critical role indenture trustees play with Bloomberg Intelligence’s Negisa Balluku and Phil Brendel. Prior to that, Phil and Noel Hebert of BI discuss how the uncertain, higher-rate environment is whipping corporate credit spreads around. The podcast concludes with the BI Podcast team tackling the latest developments in bankruptcy courts and distressed situations, including J&J, WeWork, Ardagh Group, Yellow, Diamond Sports, Spirit Airlines, 99 Cents Only Stores and Express.

The challenges of unilateral FX intervention by the Bank of Japan may mean that a confirmed dovish Fed adjustment and/or a step-up in the BOJ tightening cycle remain the best path to address the cost-of-carry yen conundrum and take dollar-yen lower in the process, according to the latest FX Moment podcast. Host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence's chief G-10 FX strategist, talks to Chris Gaffney, World Markets president at EverBank, about whether it could be time to rejoin the dollar-bearish camp, with a focus on dollar-yen amid BOJ intervention considerations. However, Fed rate cuts and/or aggressive BOJ rate hikes aren't on the agenda just yet: For now, the best case scenario for dollar-yen bears may be a 155-160 range.

Slowing growth and elevated interest rates are opening the door to fresh opportunities in the special situations world, as companies face growing “time under tension.” Rob Dafforn, chief investment officer of opportunistic credit at Polus Capital Management, joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on this episode of Credit Crunch, part of the FICC Focus podcast. Dafforn dives into the three main investment targets — cyclical losers, secular losers and frauds — along with creditor-on-creditor violence, the management process for a long-short portfolio and much more.

In this edition of All Options Considered, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Jennifer Welch, Chief Geo-economics Analyst. They focus on geopolitics and market volatility, with topics including the conflicts in the Middle East, oil politics and the US election.

Chairman Jerome Powell had opportunities at the May FOMC meeting to put interest rate hikes back on the table and surprisingly did not, says Ira Jersey, host and Chief US Interest Rate Strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence. On this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast, Jersey is joined by associate US Interest Rate Strategist Will Hoffman to discuss the key takeaways from both the Federal Reserve and US Treasury Department’s May 1 policy announcements. The pair unpack the implications of the announced taper to the pace of Fed balance-sheet runoff, as well as deficit and Treasury-issuance trends over the coming months.

Loose financial conditions are helping to alleviate short-term stability concerns, yet medium-term vulnerabilities are rising as the result of less-optimistic monetary policy expectations. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, Fabio Natalucci, deputy director of monetary and capital markets at the IMF, and Jason Wu, head of the IMF’s Global Markets division, join Bloomberg Intelligence Chief EM Fixed Income Strategist Damian Sassower to share their views on underlying asset valuations amid the recent surge in financial market volatility. Natalucci, Wu and Sassower discuss global monetary policy, central bank divergence, foreign exchange carry, Chinese shadow banks and US private credit.

Inflation is holding stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s target, throwing expectations for rate cuts into turmoil and playing havoc with housing and mortgage markets. On this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast, host and Bloomberg Intelligence Chief US Rates Strategist Ira Jersey is joined by Erica Adelberg, BI’s chief MBS strategist, and Will Hoffman, associate US rates strategist, to discuss the current and future state of the MBS market ahead of the May FOMC meeting. Adelberg breaks down recent trends across the US housing market, as well as year-to-date performance drivers for the MBS sector. She also examines the structural demand implications of continued MBS runoff from the Fed’s balance sheet.

Credit markets sold off in the past month, across the board, on rate-cut delays being priced in globally, led by the Fed. It takes us to an interesting juncture where we ask if this has longer to go or is largely done, and how it affects various asset classes in its aftermath. In this episode of our Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhimalingam, Chief European Credit Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, and Raphael Thuin, Head of Capital Markets Strategies at Tikehau Capital, discuss the global situation's effect on inflation and central bank policy, its impact on global credit and the challenges of taking a directional view after the selloff. They discuss rates, yields and credit spreads along with curve flattening, the euro weakness and their impact on credit.

Alternative investments have historically been available only to institutions and ultrahigh-net-worth individuals, but that may be changing. Yieldstreet Chief Investment Officer Ted Yarbrough says democratizing access to alternatives is the company’s mission. He joined Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Noel Hebert and Sam Geier to talk about sourcing deals, leveraging technology and the importance of education when combining illiquid investments with retail clients. Yarbrough also spoke to the disruptive potential of Yieldstreet’s digital-only platform and his long-term outlook for the business. That and more on this episode of Credit Crunch, part of the FICC Focus podcast series.

Part of being an active manager is not only looking for assets that have an edge, are mispriced or are the next hottest thing, but also learning to avoid pitfalls and blind spots when it comes to municipal credit. In this Masters of the Muniverse episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s FICC Focus podcast, Ben Barber, director of municipal bonds at Franklin Templeton, joins BI analysts Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamirano to discuss municipal active management and best defensive and offensive strategies.

Complexity and illiquidity are desirable features for Dan Zwirn, CEO, CIO and Co-Founder of Arena Investors. Zwirn talks about the benefits of the special situations strategy, his concern about concurrent asset bubbles, and how partnering with others can benefit the investment process. That and much more as he joins hosts Noel Hebert and Sam Geier, each of Bloomberg Intelligence, on this episode of Credit Crunch, part of the FICC Focus podcast series.

The US Treasury’s liquidity-support buyback operations aren’t quantitative easing by a different name, says Bloomberg Intelligence US Rates Strategy Associate Will Hoffman. On this Macro Matters edition of the FICC Focus podcast, Hoffman joins co-host and BI’s Chief Interest Rate Strategist Ira Jersey to unpack the drivers and implications of a tumultuous two-week period for the Treasury market. The pair discuss key economic developments, including the recent CPI surprise that sent yields soaring. They also dive into details of the Treasury’s upcoming buyback operations, as well as the biggest takeaways from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting minutes, including commentary on the evolution of the central bank’s balance-sheet policy. 

In our latest FX Moment podcast, Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence chief G-10 FX strategist, and Stephen Chiu, chief Asia FX and rates strategist, reflect on navigating the G-10 and Asia foreign exchange markets in 2Q, while awaiting a shift in US economic data, Fed easing expectations and the dollar's fortunes. Audrey acknowledges recent chatter about euro-dollar parity, but doesn't embrace the view for now as much bearish news is priced in already. Stephen confirms that dollar-yuan bulls remain at the mercy of a dollar move lower and PBOC support for now, while there are also relevant intra-Asia FX views to consider into 2Q.

This edition of All Options Considered is part II of the recording of the Bloomberg Volatility Forum 2024 held in London on March 19th. This is the discussion from the second panel on zero-days-to-expiry options (0DTEs) by David Cross, Co-Head of US options at DASH Financial Technologies, Henry Schwartz VP and Global Head of Client Engagement at Cboe Global Markets, JB Mackenzie, Vice President & General Manager at Robinhood and Zubin Ramdarshan, Head of Equity and Index Product Design at Eurex. The panel is hosted by Bloomberg Anchor Kriti Gupta.

Deadlines and ensuring the right parties are at the table are two crucial ingredients for successful mediations, according to Ken Feinberg, who was the Special Master of the Federal September 11 Victim Compensation Fund and has helped administer some of the most complex public crises in American history. He discussed mass tort’s intersection with Chapter 11 with Bloomberg Intelligence Bankruptcy Litigation Analyst Negisa Balluku (6:00). Prior to that, BI’s Noel Hebert and Phil Brendel discuss the risk-on euphoria in the credit markets, exemplified by half the US high yield universe now sporting spreads below 200 bps. The podcast concludes with Noel, Negisa and Phil reviewing ongoing bankruptcy and distressed situations, including Yellow, Genesis, Rackspace, Gol, WeWork, and Rite Aid (36:25).

New York City hasn’t fully recovered from the pandemic, and that leaves both the city and state concerned about future revenue to face any new economic contractions and market volatility. Thomas DiNapoli, State of New York comptroller, joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Eric Kazatsky and co-host Karen Altamirano in this month’s bonus episode of the Masters of the Muniverse podcast to discuss aligning spending and revenue. This edition marks a slight departure from the previous slate of guests who have brought us perspectives on the market from the sell and buy sides and from data providers. As the economy potentially heads toward a more-volatile period, and with inflation proving to be anything but transitory, one of the largest issuers in the US muni market talks about risks and resiliency.

This edition of All Options Considered is the recording of part of the Bloomberg Volatility Forum 2024 held in London on March 19th. The first part is the opening speech by BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu on macro and volatility across markets. This is followed by the recording of the discussion from the first panel on VIX and option strategies by Pierre De Saab, Partner at Dominice, Tom Leake, Head of Solutions at Capstone Investment Advisors and Valeriu Trufas, Fund Manager at Atlantic House. The panel is hosted by Bloomberg Anchor and Acting London Bureau Chief, Anna Edwards.

Event risk will garner greater attention as the emerging-market election calendar heats up in May. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through podcast, Wells Fargo Global Macro Strategist, FX & Emerging Markets Aroop Chatterjee joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence chief EM credit strategist, to share his views on funding currency diversification as the EM carry trade remains alive and well. Chatterjee and Sassower discuss the propensity for currency volatility to mean-revert, debate the impact of China’s economy on the broader commodity complex, and assess the impact of a shallower US Federal Reserve easing cycle on EM interest rate expectations.

Philosophy, process, people and performance — that’s what Jim Fellows, co-president and CIO of First Eagle Alternative Credit, says underpins FEAC’s investment approach. Fellows joins hosts Noel Hebert and Sam Geier, Bloomberg Intelligence credit analysts, on this episode of Credit Crunch to talk through the value of culture, the evolution in direct lending, leveraged loans and CLOs, and why he wants credit to just be boring. They discuss mid-market lending, the right risk premium between direct lending and syndicated markets, and how the FEAC team leverages technology to complement the investment process. Credit Crunch is a part of the FICC Focus podcast series.

I think the Fed is extremely data dependent, if anything, too data dependent, says Anna Wong, chief US economist for Bloomberg Economics. In this Macro Matters edition of the FICC focus podcast, Wong joins host Ira Jersey, chief US interest rate strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence, to unpack the March FOMC meeting. The pair discuss the surprises and developments from the meeting, including revisions to the Statement of Economic Projections and their implications for the path of Fed policy. Revisions to longer-run rate expectations, intermeeting black swan events, thresholds for interest rate cuts, and risk cases to economic forecasts are also discussed.

Municipals are starting the year semi-flat, and the latest read on consumer prices won’t do much to alleviate the concern of market participants that performance could be stagnant for the foreseeable future. At the same time, there are still some areas of relative value, even though the absolute tradeoff from late 2023 has faded to a large degree. In the latest Masters of the Muniverse episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s FICC Focus podcast, Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamirano are joined by Jason Appleson, managing director and head of PGIM Fixed Income’s municipal-bond team. They discuss market dynamics, credit quality, election predictions and much more.

Credit markets had a strong six months of rally, particularly in spreads, although not necessarily in yields. Are credit spreads too tight, and is that supported by low defaults? Is that rally justified on expected rate cuts? In this episode of our Credit Crunch podcast, host Mahesh Bhimalingam, Chief European Credit Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, and Marina Cohen, Head of European High Yield at Amundi Asset Management, discuss the situation in credit and the specific challenges of portfolio management after a six-month rally. They discuss relative value across junk, high grade and loans, fund flows, defaults, rate cuts and yield-curve views in detail. Particular attention was also given to private credit markets and how they are interacting with public markets in terms of supply and defaults.

The distressed cycle is on the upswing as rates pinch post-pandemic borrowers, in the eyes of William ‘Tuck’ Hardie, Managing Director in Houlihan Lokey’s Financial Restructuring Group (3:30). He joined the State of Distressed Debt podcast team to talk liability management transactions, where we are in the cycle, and why the involvement of private credit and CLO investors may mean more persistent distress. Tuck also shares stories from his 20-plus years with Houlihan and speaks to the culture that has enabled the team’s success. Prior to that, Noel Hebert and Phil Brendel of Bloomberg Intelligence review renewed declines in distressed debt and the general state of the market. The podcast concludes with BI’s Negisa Balluku and Phil reviewing ongoing bankruptcy and distressed situations including Gol, WeWork, Yellow, Audacy and Spirit Airlines (1:11:50).

The Federal Reserve is restrictive, and policymakers left themselves room to cut on the way up, says Greg Faranello, head of US rates at AmeriVet Securities. In this Macro Matters edition of the Bloomberg Intelligence FICC Focus podcast, Faranello joins hosts Ira Jersey, BI chief US rates strategist, and Will Hoffman, US rates strategy associate, to discuss the state of the Treasury market. The trio examine the recent repricing of Fed policy expectations, outlook for quantitative tightening and the impact of persistent federal deficits on the secondary Treasury market.

In the latest FX Moment podcast, host Audrey Childe-Freeman, Bloomberg Intelligence's chief G10 FX strategist, talks about the Swiss economy, the SNB's outlook and prospects for the franc with Valerie Lemaigre, head of Investment Office and chief economist at Banque Cantonale de Geneve. In particular, Valerie and Audrey explore how the outlook for Swiss growth and inflation may sway SNB near-term monetary policy direction and why the franc's recent underperformance (to the extent that it feeds positively through the inflation channel) takes pressure off the SNB to begin imminent easing. This suggests that a not-so-dovish March 21 SNB meeting may give the franc temporary breathing space, with a likely euro-Swiss near-term consolidation near 0.95-0.97, while dollar-Swiss remains at the mercy of the greenback's narrative.

MBS demand from banks and international buyers is seen as weakening in the near term as expectations for the US Federal Reserve’s first rate cut and a taper in the pace of quantitative tightening is being pushed further into 2024, says Nick Maciunas, head of agency MBS research at JP Morgan Securities. In this Macro Matters edition of the Bloomberg Intelligence FICC Focus podcast, Maciunas joins hosts Ira Jersey, BI chief US rate strategist, and Erica Adelberg, BI’s chief US MBS strategist, to discuss shifts in MBS market dynamics. The trio dive into the microstructure of the market and how changes in Fed policy expectations impacts securities demand from the banking sector. They also touch on the drivers of the asset class’ recent underperformance and the implications of regulatory changes on hedging behavior.

For a market notoriously known for resisting change, the municipal bond market is arguably one of the most in need of advanced technologies. Artificial intelligence may finally bring better fair value pricing to munis’ nuanced and illiquid market. In the latest Masters of the Muniverse episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s FICC Focus podcast, Eric Kazatsky and Karen Altamirano are joined by ficc.ai’s co-founder, Charles Elkan, to discuss how machine learning and muni ETFs can bring real-time pricing to muniland.

Emerging market carry should continue to outperform, as the fall in foreign exchange volatility reflects capitulation by dollar bulls. In this month’s EM Lens & Look-Through edition of Bloomberg Intelligence’s FICC Focus podcast, Phoenix Kalen, Head of EM Research at Société Générale, joins Damian Sassower, Bloomberg Intelligence chief EM fixed income strategist, to share her view on valuations and investor positioning across EM local rates, currencies and credit. Macroeconomic risks appear back-loaded to 2H, when US presidential elections may fuel a rise in EM volatility.

Systematic credit investors seek to capitalize on mispricings that can be overlooked or hard to identify in more traditional investment strategies. Scott Richardson, director of Systematic Credit at Acadian Asset Management, has been at the forefront of the approach and joins Bloomberg Intelligence podcast hosts Noel Hebert and Sam Geier on this episode of Credit Crunch to talk through they keys to success: Identifying relative value, modeling default forecasts, portfolio construction, comparing value in primary vs. secondary markets, examining liquidity premiums and the importance of transparency. Credit Crunch is a part of the FICC Focus podcast series

In this edition of the All Options Considered podcast, BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu is joined by Catherine Clay, Global Head of Derivatives at Cboe. They discuss zero-days-to-expiry options (0DTEs), cross-asset volatility and potential for options on Bitcoin ETFs.

Seth Carpenter, chief global economist at Morgan Stanley, expects the Federal Reserve to taper its balance-sheet policy in May and to begin easing interest rates in June. Carpenter joins hosts Ira Jersey and Will Hoffman of the Bloomberg Intelligence interest rate strategy team to give his views on economies and markets in this Macro Matters edition of the BI FICC Focus podcast. The trio discuss ongoing economic and inflationary dynamics, including the disinflationary process, potential catalysts and impacts of adjustments to the Fed’s balance-sheet policy. Carpenter also digs into the US Treasury Department’s decision-making process when determining the composition of Treasury issuance.