FICC Focus

“It is the inconsistency of decisions which oftentimes bedevils a company’s ultimate success. You create that consistency. You can also push decisioning down from the C-suite into the next operating level. That creates dynamism and speed in decision-making. Speed in decision-making creates faster turns in the capital in the business,” says Andrew Milgram, managing partner and chief investment officer of Marblegate Asset Management. Milgram discusses how his firm works with portfolio companies to improve processes for better operational outcomes in this episode of the State of Distressed Debt podcast. In his hour-plus conversation with Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert and Phil Brendel, Milgram shares his perspective on how Marblegate’s direct-investing approach and focus on the middle market de-emphasizes the credit cycle. He also discusses First Brands Group, liability management exercises and his outlook for 2026. The podcast concludes with BI’s Negisa Balluku joining to break down the latest legal developments at First Brands and Serta, followed by a discussion with Brendel and Hebert around Saks’ DIP battle with Amazon and Axonic.

“Hybrid is the ultimate in creative solutions,” says Apollo’s co-head of equity and head of hybrid, Matt Nord, when discussing the firm’s fast-growing hybrid strategy and the types of solutions that may allow it to triple in scale over the coming years. Nord joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert on the latest episode of Credit Crunch to talk about controlling for downside, the benefits of scale and why the lack of realizations across private equity is creating a need for more tailored funding solutions. The two also discuss Apollo’s investment ethos, including its value orientation and pursuit of “excess return per unit of risk.”

The Credit Crunch podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.

The Japanese bond market has experienced significant volatility and increased currency intervention risks this year. Ahead of the snap election in which the prime minister is seeking a renewed mandate, this edition of the All Options Considered podcast features BI's Chief Global Derivatives Strategist Tanvir Sandhu in conversation with Kristi Govella, Associate Professor of Japanese Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford. They discuss Japanese politics, the fiscal outlook and implications for the market.

Housing affordability challenges are a feature, not a bug, Bloomberg Intelligence chief MBS strategist Erica Adelberg says. On this episode of the Macro Matters podcast, Adelberg joins host Ira Jersey, BI’s chief US rates strategist, to discuss Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buying $200 billion of mortgage-backed securities, recent proposals aimed at improving affordability for first-time home buyers and shifts in her views on relative value in the MBS market. Adelberg notes that efforts by the Federal Reserve or US government to address housing affordability could raise longer-term risks.

“There’s no binary differentiation between capital solutions and restructuring anymore,” says Lazard’s co-head of Europe Restructuring and Liability Management, Sam Whittaker, when discussing the continuum of solutions available to debtors under stress. Whittaker and Lazard’s co-head of European Debt Advisory and Capital Solutions, Tom Howard, joined Bloomberg Intelligence’s Noel Hebert on the latest episode of the Credit Crunch podcast to discuss the current stressed and distressed landscape in Europe, sectors of concern, the evolution of balance-sheet solutions and documentation flexibility. The Credit Crunch podcast is part of BI’s FICC Focus series.