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PDF | Insights | Week of Jul 14 2025

Quote of the Week

“Despite numerous headwinds, the US economy is proving stubbornly resilient.”

- Chad Moutray, chief economist, National Restaurant Association (WSJ).

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Private Credit – The Final Reckoning (Third of a Series)

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The Force Awakens – Churchill 2Q Private Equity Survey (Part One)

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Life happens at inflection points. This goes for capital markets as well. Whether changes in interest rates (high to low), or economic cycles (growth to recession), being alert to those subtle shifts allows astute asset managers to lean into investment strategies more effectively. 


The challenge today is unpredictable trade policies have created false signals, particularly in liquid markets where traders can pivot on a dime. Headline risk increases the whipsaw effect of rapidly changing prices in a confused environment. “As good as our stats are, they just weren't made for these kinds of very large moves in policy that cause a knee-jerk reaction,” KPMG’s chief economist, Diane Swonk, reports. “It makes it even harder to read the tea leaves.”

 

Private capital, with fewer facets exposed to macro dynamics, has been a boon to institutional and wealth investors for price and valuation stability. But visibility on what exactly moves the asset class is less public and therefore invites suspicion...


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Mid-Year 2025 Private Equity Survey



Learn more about private equity leaders’ perspectives on today’s market environment and how they’re influencing investment decisions.

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Private Capital Call Podcast



EP11: Marcel Schindler, StepStone’s Head of Private Debt, on the evolving private credit landscape.

Chart of the Week

Slowing the Slowdown

Notwithstanding tariffs, economists now view the chances of a recession fading. 

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Source: WSJ Surveys of Economists

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Bloomberg: Leveraged Lending Insights

Leveraged Loan Launches Accelerate in July

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After launching over $33bn into the broadly syndicated US leveraged loan market last week, issuers have continued to jump into the market, with an additional $39.84bn launching so far this week through Wednesday July 16th...

Contacts: Vincent Daigger, Lara Wieczezynski/ Bloomberg

PDI Picks

2025 sees fundraising extremes

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Our data shows the brakes have been slammed by investors after a fast start to the year for those raising fresh capital. 

‘Volatile’ is the word frequently being used to describe the economic and political backdrop to investing today. For private debt managers, that same volatility is being seen on the fundraising front...


Contact: Andy Thomson / Private Debt Investor

Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis

2Q25 Total US direct lending LBO volume down over 47% quarter over quarter

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Talk of tariffs, inflation fears and anticipation of a congressional show down over the Trump administration's "big, beautiful bill" contributed to heightened market uncertainty throughout much of 2Q25 and the direct lender loan market was not immune to the fall out...


Contact: Maria Dikeos / LSEG

The Pulse of Private Equity

US PE fundraising activity

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PE fundraising has landed at a lower level than in 2024, which was already a worse year for fundraising than the three years prior, where the industry saw record-setting fundraising...

Contact: Garrett Black / PitchBook

KBRA Direct Lending Deals: News & Analysis

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TTM Default Volume, Count

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Contact: Eric Rosenthal / KBRA DLD

Middle Market & Private Credit

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Private Credit, Public Debate

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Learn more



Richard Hunter, Chief Risk Officer at Fitch Ratings, recently published an op-ed sharing his insights on private credit. He addressed frequent questions we receive, including:


  • Does Private Mean Opaque?...

Contact: Richard Hunter / FitchRatings

Covenant Trends 

Distribution of Synergies & Cost Savings EBITDA Addback Time Horizons

(for Actions Resulting in Addbacks)

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Contact: Steven Miller / Covenant Review

High-Yield Bond Statistics

Launched Volume

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New-issue Yields

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Weekly Fund Flows

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Weekly fund flows source: Lipper

Contact: Robert Polenberg / LevFin Insights

Debtwire Middle-Market

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The blue line in the chart is the current dividend yield of the *VanEck BDC Income ETF (currently at 11% as of 3 July) that tracks the overall performance of publicly traded business development companies (BDCs, are lenders to privately held middle-market businesses that tend to be below investment grade or not rated, with most lending comprising of senior secured loans)...

Contact: Suneet Chandvani / Debtwire 

Middle Market Deal Terms at a Glance

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Contact: Stefan Shaffer / SPP Capital Partners

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This publication is a service to our clients and friends. It is designed only to give general information on the market developments actually covered. It is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of recent developments or to suggest parameters for any prospective financing opportunity.