The nature of credit markets is healing

Send us Fan MailNormally when central banks make policy decisions that they were expected to, capital markets activity carries on unencumbered. But not this week.The 50bp interest rate increased from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday was long anticipated but while markets appeared to take the news well at first, by Thursday things had gone sour once more making issuance difficult. Certainly, there’s a lot to feel grim about in the economic realm — supply chain disruption, war in Ukraine, rampant inflation and possibly a looming recession. Meanwhile, investors and issuers are dealing with the gradual withdrawal of central bank economic stimulus. All of that makes the capital markets a tougher place to navigate and picking the right deal to do at the right time a harder task than it has been for years. This week, we look across debt and equity capital markets to examine how they will respond and discuss whether some borrowers are in for an unduly rough ride or whether this is simply the return of the good old days when investors discerned between the good credits and the bad.