Bond

Lombard Odier Investment Managers’ (LOIM) has combined its Global and Emerging Fixed Income teams into a single unit and hired a market strategist.

Fitch Ratings has assigned Hazine Mustesarligi Varlik Kiralama Anonim Sirketi’s (Hazine) USD1.5bn of global certificates (Sukuk), due 26 March 2018, a ’BBB-’ rating. The certificates have a profit rate of 2.803%.

In a new report, Fitch Ratings says that credit investment strategies need to adapt to less directional credit markets and exploit carry and relative value opportunities, while carefully managing rising duration, idiosyncratic and liquidity risks.

Insurers are likely to re-examine their allocations to fixed income assets in 2013 as continued low interest rates challenge business models and profitability, according to BlackRock’s global insurance industry outlook, “2013: The Year Ahead.”

The central issue for Japan’s sovereign credit rating remains the developing and implementing of a credible fiscal strategy to stabilise government debt over the medium term, Fitch Ratings says.