Add-ons abound amid renewed wave of M&A; Autodata deal to take out debt held by PSEC

Momentum slowed in the new-issue loan market last week, with the uncertainty surrounding U.S.-China trade negotiations leaving market participants in wait-and-see mode heading into the weekend. While time-sensitive business continues apace, arrangers readying opportunistic deals appeared to be taking a more deliberate approach as events play out on the international stage. Yet high-yield issuance came at a breakneck pace—the $12 billion output was the highest-volume week in almost two years—as U.S. Treasury yields fell. Moreover, the broad secondary markets took the week’s events in stride, with earnings continuing to drive situational movers.

On Monday, President Trump criticized the Fed for even considering raising rates, yet on Wednesday the Federal Open Market Committee announced its decision to raise the Fed Funds rate ¼ of a percent from 2.25% to 2.5% -- the fourth such increase in 2018.