Squeezed in the Middle
It’s ironic. Just as the economy seems to be picking up steam and the Fed is ratcheting up rates to stay ahead of inflation, the prospect of additional tariffs and trade wars risks putting a damper on the whole party.
A recent survey of middle market dealmakers by Antares Capital (and featured by our friends at S&P LCD in their weekly wrap) highlighted these dueling forces. Just under 40% of respondents feel better about the economy than they had in January. But 47% of lenders surveyed expressed worries about what’s to come for the economy.
That view is indeed colored by trade and tariffs. As LCD reported, “more than two-thirds of respondents said they were concerned about trade issues, which could have top-to-bottom implications on supply chains.”...
Quote of the Week
“Correlations moving around can do a lot more damage than volatility rising.” – Tom Clarke, global macro strategies, William Blair.
M&A loan volume for the current quarter is on par with last quarter’s activity; share of buyouts down from a year ago.
Lead Left Spotlight
Peter Magas
Managing Director
Beecken Petty O'Keefe & Company
"Demographics suggest continued demand for healthcare services and the provider base cannot keep pace."
Read Interview
Mark Habner
Co-Founder & CEO
BeckWay Group
"Individuals within a company truly make the difference in performance and excellence, not the company itself."
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Rod Rivera & David Baker
Managing Directors
Capstone Headwaters
"Value-based care is definitely the theme of the day."
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Andrew Welch
Managing Director
Revelstoke Capital Partners
"We believe scale matters, particularly in healthcare."
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Bram Smith & Lee Shaiman
Outgoing and Incoming Executive Director
LSTA
"Despite the financial crisis and a sharp pricing drop, loans and CLOs actually performed as promised."
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In the political sphere, Europe and North America appear to be going on separate ways since the election of Donald Trump, as was evident in the recent G7 talks. In the credit world, however, they are closely correlated, reflecting the global scope of corporates on both sides of the Atlantic....
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Review of Current Market Conditions/ Analysis of Capital Markets Metrics/ Review of Credit Quality/ Outlook for Second Quarter 2018
Beginning in October 2017 The Lead Left published a series of articles on covenant-lite. This report consolidates those articles.
Review of Current Market Conditions/ Analysis of Capital Markets Metrics/ Review of Credit Quality/ Outlook for First Quarter 2018
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