FICO Crashes Most Since 2004 As Pulte's Mortgage Score Shakeup Threatens Its Moat

From Par To Pennies Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance Private credit’s reckoning is not arriving with one grand, spectacular crash. It is arriving slowly and steadily, one loan at a time. For years, one of private credit’s great attractions was the remarkable stability (or perceived stability) of its valuations. Public bonds could fall ten points in a week. Leveraged loans could gap lower after a bad earnings report. But private loans somehow possessed the soothing ability to remain at 98, 99 or 100 cents on the dollar through almost anything, all while paying investors...

"We Can't Be Part Of A Lost Generation": Bolsonaro Wins Four Key Party Endorsements Ahead Of Brazil Runoff In a postmortem published Wednesday on Sunday's first-round Brazilian presidential election, Alberto Ramos, Goldman Sachs' chief Latin American economist, described a "conservative wave" that swept the country, culminating in right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro's win over unhinged socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro's momentum continued mid-week after he secured endorsements from four center-right parties, strengthening his coalition ahead of the October 25 runoff election against Lula.  Bloomberg reports that Uniao Brasil, Progressistas, Republicanos and Novo...

Xi Presses Trump For Taiwan Policy Shift As $14 Billion Weapons Deal Hangs In Limbo Following our earlier coverage of Barclays senior China economist Yingke Zhou's view that Chinese leader Xi Jinping's state visit delivered "more signaling, less substance," attention turns to Taiwan, where Xi pressed President Donald Trump to oppose Taiwan independence. According to China's official Xinhua News Agency, Xi urged Trump to "adhere to the correct position of opposing Taiwan independence." The conversation took place at Thursday's White House summit. For years, Washington has held the stance that it "doesn't...