High Yield Report articles from August 2003

High Yield Report archives from August 2003

Europe.
August 4, 2003... One might think that European high yield investors would be more than a little wary of telecom deals, given the meltdown of the TMT sector two years ago. Not so, if last week's $1.2 billion equivalent transaction from Eircom, Ireland's...

Perspective.
August 4, 2003... The recent spurt in new issuance from US high yield companies may be good news for investors anxious to get their hands on higher yielding paper, but if sustained, this increased issuance from lower quality credits could eventually lead to a...

US.
August 4, 2003... The verdict is still out on exactly what impact the House of Representatives' rejection of the Federal Communications Commission's new ruling by a 400-21 vote (or 20-1 margin) will have on high yield broadcast and media issuers. One thing,...

The Word Is.
August 4, 2003... An important part of the post-Enron mess came to a conclusion last week, as the Securities and Exchange Commission finally brought Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase - two of the biggest lenders to Enron - to task. After 19 months under...

US Company News.(Walt Disney Co.)
August 4, 2003... If you think Disney, with its theme parks, TV stations and even Broadway shows has made a large enough footprint on our world, think again. The entertainment giant now wants its thumbprint on your cellphone, and wireless analysts say it's not a...

US Company News.
August 4, 2003... FirstEnergy postponed the reopening of its Davis-Besse nuclear plant last week, a move that put pressure on its Baa2/BBB rating (now only two notches above investment grade) and its banks, which must renegotiate the company's $1 billion...

Profile.
August 4, 2003... Prescott Crocker runs Evergreen Investment Fund's high yield portfolios like a bank loan committee: Every decision either to buy or to sell a bond must go through a subcommittee made up of the portfolio managers, the head of research and the...

MARKET BUZZ.
August 4, 2003... RBC Capital Markets recently appointed William Haffner as managing director in its leveraged finance group. Haffner joins the firm from Morgan Stanley, where he was a vice president and executive director in the financial sponsor group,...

Leveraged Loans.
August 4, 2003... Thus far into the year, the loan market has been busy with refinancings. There has been more than enough demand for such transactions, but over the past few weeks, banks have unveiled some jumbo deals that are likely to challenge market...

Banks.
August 11, 2003... Another suit recently filed against Enron's primary bankers accuses them of duplicitously soliciting other lenders, even though they knew from their structured finance activities with the company that the public financial information investors...

US Company News.
August 11, 2003... High yield investors and analysts are raving about the proposed merger between aaiPharma, the drug maker best known for its painkillers Darvon and Darvocet, and CIMA, which specializes in orally disintegrating tablet drugs. If the...

US Company News.(Foamex International Inc.)
August 11, 2003... The hot syndicated loan market, which has recently allowed even the more speculative companies to secure refinancing at improved terms (see story, p. 2), looks like it's starting to back up, some analysts say. If that is indeed the case,...

The Word Is.(Editorial)
August 11, 2003... Fallen angels were once a novelty for the high yield market. How to deal with them, how to assess and analyze them, what sort of impact would they have on the market as a whole - these were the questions high yield pros had to come up with...

Syndicated Loans.
August 11, 2003... A seemingly endless wave of companies attempting to reprice institutional loans in order to get better pricing from a healthy market has created record conditions in the syndicated loan market over the past few weeks. The volume of...

Emerging Markets.
August 11, 2003... In a move that will enable its client base to access mezzanine and emerging markets fixed income, Franklin Templeton last week signed a definitive agreement with Washington-based emerging markets specialist Darby Overseas Investments to...

Profile.(Kohlberg and Company L.L.C.)(Company Profile)
August 11, 2003... Question: How do you move into a new asset class yet maintain control over your own investment decisions? Answer: Set up your own asset management firm and hire a seasoned professional to run it on your behalf. That's exactly what...

People Moves.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2003... Barclays Capital last week appointed Peter Oein to the position of managing director and head of UK and European leveraged finance. Oien joins Barclays from Credit Suisse First Boston, where he held a similar position. Prior to that, he was...

Opinion.
August 11, 2003... Grab a seat and buckle up: Over the next few weeks, Bill Healey will contribute a series of articles on the current state of global credit markets and the prospects for the major participants in those markets. Here's Chapter 1 of "I'm a Credit...

US Company News.
August 18, 2003... Lights on or not, Oxford Automotive is having a really rough time trying to get investors interested in its deal, which was expected to price Friday, the day after the Blackout of 2003. In its original incarnation, the market thought the...

US Company News.
August 18, 2003... Last Monday, DIRECTV announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC), and one of the agreement's terms became the subject of a much-heated discussion in the high yield...

Secondary Market.
August 18, 2003... The rough reception given to several recent corporate bond deals could force underwriters to recalibrate their strategies for upcoming bond issues and move pricing in line with today's market volatility and away from yesterday's boom. What...

The Word Is.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
August 18, 2003... August is more than half over already and as we at High Yield Report get ready to take a two-week publishing break, I wanted to take a first look at where we stand in terms of what we set out to do and how we're doing it. It has been over...

US.
August 18, 2003... The traditional hierarchy of bankruptcy categories is being turned topsy-turvy by settlements such as a recent $750 million payment levied against the bankrupt WorldCom for civil fraud charges - an arrangement that is rewarding lowly...

Syndicated Loans.
August 18, 2003... Nonperforming loans are down, credit quality is up and the economy is showing consistent signs of improvement - three factors that would typically point to increased business in the loan syndication market. Not so fast. Structural changes...

Profile.(Thomas Parker of Barclay's Global Investor)
August 18, 2003... Thomas Parker bucks tradition - well, at least when it comes to the way in which he manages $1.87 billion of high yield assets for Barclay's Global Investor. Instead of the same old humdrum way of assessing credits by poring over 10Ks and...