Squawk on the Street Hotter inflation, GDP Surprise, Exclusive With Blue Owl's Head of Credit 2/20/26
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Feb 20, 2026 
Craig Packer, Co-President of Blue Owl Capital and head of its credit arm, discusses the firm’s $1.4B loan sale, fund redemptions and how fundraising and asset sales are being handled. He addresses who bought assets, pricing and transparency. Conversation also touches on lending standards for software and plans to return capital to investors.
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Hotter PCE, Slower GDP Muddy Fed Outlook
- Q4 GDP missed at 1.4% while core PCE rose to its highest in nearly three years, complicating the Fed's policy narrative.
- Hosts debated whether tighter policy remains justified amid mixed growth and hotter inflation signals.
OpenAI Raise Could Fuel Nvidia Demand
- Nvidia is reportedly in talks to invest up to $30 billion in OpenAI, separate from prior infrastructure agreements.
- The potential funding round would likely funnel capital into massive GPU compute demand, benefiting Nvidia.
Sale At Par Validates Portfolio Marks
- Blue Owl sold $1.4 billion across 128 names at 99.7 cents, which Craig Packer framed as validation of marks.
- The sale covered about half the fund and represented broad sector exposure, not cherry-picking.