ERIC Insurance reported positive results for the 1st quarter of FY19, with unaudited net profit after tax of AUD0.61m. We maintain our Speculative Buy recommendation on ERIC's 10% Tier 2 subordinated notes due 2026. Our credit outlook remains negative.

Harvey 2018-1 is Credit Union Australia's (CUA) first transaction for 2018. It is a prime RMBS supported by a good quality pool of collateral.

Firstmac 2018.3 is the third term out transaction by Firstmac in 2018. It is a prime RMBS transaction supported by a good quality pol of collateral.

Recent volatility in markets had many investors adding more Investment Grade (IG) bonds to their portfolios. Our IG picks in USD are BHP Billiton 2025c, QBE 2026c, Adani Abbott Point Terminal 2022 and NCIG senior 2027. They offer investors exposure to better rated securities without sacrificing yield.

Following a Telco update from our independent credit research provider (ICRP), we have highlighted our recommendations in the sector. Sprint remains a speculative buy in the sector, AT&T a hold, and Frontier and Telstra good exit targets.

Australian corporates predominately issue fixed rate bonds. there is therefore a limited offering in the floating rate note (FRN) space, and particularly of investment grade. The pick of those is the Pacific National (formerly Asciano) FRN 2027 bond, which currently we have access to and offers relative value to its peers.

On October 2019, mining services company, Barminco Holdings (Barminco), announced that it had been awarded two four-year contracts at the Agnew gold mine By Gold Fields.

The NCIGH US dollar bond with 12.50% coupon, currently offers good value, after trading USD8 higher in price earlier this year. The bond is yielding over 8%pa, now presenting an ever more attractive entry price for new investors.

IAMGOLD (IMG) remains our pick in the USD High Yield (HY) mining sector. The current bond price, offering a yield in excess of 6.50%, is a good entry level for new investors or those looking to add to their holdings. Further bolstering this investment thesis are the recent Moody’s upgrade, a rebound in gold price and positive 2Q18 company results.

We are initiating our recommendation on Praeco.

We initiate our coverage of Plenary Bond Co’s 6.50% notes due 2024 with a Market Perform recommendation. The outlook is stable.

NEXTDC has agreed terms to acquire the remaining 70.8% of the Asia Pacific Data Centre Trust (APDC). APDC owns three datacentres located in Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne which NEXTDC rents from it. These were the first three datacentres developed by NEXTDC and were spun out of the Group in order to recycle capital. NEXTDC has been attempting to take back control of the assets for over a year.

Our independent credit research provider, CreditSights, has revised its sector recommendations for Car Rental to ‘Selective Risk Taking’. There is no change to the credit and indicatively yielding over 7.90%pa, the Hertz 2022 is an appealing short dated US dollar offering.

Centuria Capital No. 2 Fund (Centuria) is launching a new transaction, seeking to raise up to AUD100m of senior secured notes maturing in April 2023. The transaction will include one floating rate tranche and one fixed rate tranche, both offering a yield in the region of 6.50%.

The DirectBond filter lists have been updated for September 2018.

Port of Melbourne's inaugural AUD issuance is expected to be in demand due to its investment grade rating as well as the stability and predictability of its cash flows. However, we do not believe it offers value at the indicative pricing of below 4.00%.

The French Bank, BNP Paribas, is to issue an Australian dollar Tier 2 style bond. The investment grade 15 year bond callable after 10 years is expected to price around 5.00$ yield which equates to a margin of BBSW +2.20%.

Nufarm's April 2026 bond is the recent inclusion to the DirectBond list and available to wholesale investors. The US dollar bond trades at a discount to its issue price, providing an appealing entry point for investors who are comfortable with the investment grade risk.

Heathrow Airport's inaugural AUD issuance is expected to receive strong investor demand due to its investment grade rating and stable and predictable cash flow.s The bond offers reasonable value with trading margin of circa BBSW+1.40% and fits our theme of extending duration in Australian dollar denominated investment grade bonds. Nevertheless, we see better relative value elsewhere with these bonds also carrying additional interest rate risk.

Harvey 2018-1 is Credit Union Australia’s (CUA) first transaction for 2018. It is a prime RMBS supported by a good quality pool of collateral