High Yield Report articles from February 2005

High Yield Report archives from February 2005

Europe.(industry forecasts)
February 7, 2005... After a banner year for the European high yield market in 2004, some buy-side and sell-side high yield groups are on the hunt for new talent as they seek to keep the momentum going. Hedge funds, distressed shops and larger sell-side firms all...

US Company News.(acquisition plans)
February 7, 2005... Investors were burning with curiosity last week, wondering what would become of Adelphia Communications Corp., as the final bids to acquire the company came in late Monday, January 31. Investors closely followed news sources to hear that Time...

Regulation.(pension plans)
February 7, 2005... The Bush administration's proposal to shore up private pension plans and the federal corporation that insures them - the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) -could have a few key implications for financially distressed companies and the high...

Market View.(Merrill Lynch survey)
February 7, 2005... Hedge fund managers are underweight the high yield bond market, according to a recent survey conducted by Merrill Lynch. The survey was conducted at the end of January, and covered a diverse group of fixed income portfolio managers, including...

Industry.(forecasts)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... The fiscal 2005 year for the US paper and forest products industry is not expected to be a remarkable one. That's because companies in the sector are not expected to achieve enough recovery to stimulate significant investment and growth,...

Q&A.(High Yield Report meets Diane Keefe)(Interview)
February 7, 2005... Diane Keefe, manager of a socially screened high yield fund for The Pax World Funds supports a unique investment philosophy that is based on adhering to socially sound investments. Keefe spoke with HYR to discuss this philosophy and her outlook...

Gainers & Losers: AT&T/ATA Holdings.(market shares)
February 7, 2005... Gainers last week included AT&T Corp. and MCI, as they both had big merger news last week. AT&T has agreed to a $16 billion merger with SBC Communications Corp., while news was also circulating that MCI received a takeover bid from Qwest...

Market Buzz.(appointments)
February 7, 2005... Michael Cherry, a top high yield salesman who was let go from JP Morgan's high yield group late last year, has turned up at CRT Capital Group and will start this week. Taylor Watts, sales manager at the firm confirmed the new hire. At the same...

US Company News.
February 14, 2005... Collins & Aikman Corp.'s bonds slipped last week amid speculation that the auto supplier was headed down the same road as Tower Automotive, which filed for bankruptcy February 2. To be sure, US automotive part suppliers face several...

US Company News.
February 14, 2005... High yield investors were on tenterhooks last week they awaited word from MCI Inc. on whether the long distance carrier would take a $6.3 billion acquisition offer from Qwest Communications International Inc., or an informal offer believed to...

Private Equity.
February 14, 2005... Six days. That's how long it took a group of private equity firms to pull out more than half of their equity investment in Intelsat Ltd., the global satellite communications company, in a so-called dividend recap that absolutely blew away...

Market View.
February 14, 2005... High yield investors definitely aren't expecting the kind of returns they saw in 2005, which ranged from 4% to 6%, but by employing different strategies - namely, those applied to the performance of new issues in the secondary market - they may...

Credit.
February 14, 2005... The next round of defaults is certainly expected, as suggested by several market indicators. However, when the downturn will occur still remains uncertain. While the loan market continues to see low default rates, thin credit spreads and...

Euro CDOs.(obligations, collateralized debt)
February 14, 2005... In 2004, a flurry of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) came into being in the US. Now, while they continue to keep busy in the US, several investment management firms are setting roots down in Europe where, they say, there are many...

CDOs.(collateralized debt obligations)
February 14, 2005... US collateralized debt obligation (CDO) transactions experienced 60% fewer downgrades by Standard & Poor's in 2004, (110) compared with 2003 (271). That's a significant improvement largely owed to the progress of many high yield collateralized...

Gainers & Losers: AMR/Qwest.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2005... AMR Corp. and Delta Air Lines landed in last week's gainers after oil prices tumbled and consolidation efforts continued. AMR's 9.8% notes of 2021 gained 5.375 points to trade at 69.625, while Delta's 9.75% notes of 2021 rose 5.125 points to...

Market Buzz.
February 14, 2005... Veteran debt investor, Jeffrey Maillet, has re-emerged in the market with his own asset management firm - called Noble Asset Management (NAM). The Chicago-based fund employs multiple strategies, including long/short special situations,...

Firms.(Cantor Fitzgerald LP)
February 21, 2005... As it prepares to move into its new New York midtown digs, Cantor Fitzgerald LP is in the midst of a massive hiring spree to greatly expand the firm's debt capital markets division. Cantor announced the addition of 15 staffers earlier this...

US Company News.(Star Gas Partners')
February 21, 2005... It looks like Star Gas Partners' chairman, president and CEO, Irik Sevin is in the hot seat. That's because debtholders, namely hedge fund Third Point LLC and its CEO Daniel Loeb, have had enough of the company's lackluster performance. And...

European Company News.(payment-in-kind)(Avio Holding SpA)
February 21, 2005... Avio Holding SpA added to the glut of payment-in-kind (PIK) deals being brought to the European high yield market. Last week, the company issued 375 million in 10-year senior floating rate PIK notes through lead underwriters Goldman Sachs and...

US Company News.(payment-in-kind')
February 21, 2005... Just how far will investors scrounge for yield? A string of payment-in-kind' (PIK) notes that successfully priced this month in the high yield bond market indicates that so far, the buy side has yet to reach its limits. Over three business...

Market View.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2005... What would happen if the Federal Open Market Committee (Fed) raised rates by 50 basis points (bps)? While this is an unlikely scenario, given the current approach of a gradual 25 bps increase, analysts at Merrill Lynch hypothesized what would...

Profile.(Deerfield Capital Management)(Company Profile)
February 21, 2005... Deerfield Capital Management, a Chicago-based asset management firm whose portfolio includes bank debt, asset-backed securities and bond investments, is intently focused on growth these days. However, in doing so, the firm plans to maintain a...

Gainers & Losers: Riggs Capital/Star Gas Partners.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2005... Riggs Capital made it to the gainers list last week after the company accepted an acquisition bid from PNC Financial Services Corp. The offer was decreased after Riggs' implication in a money-laundering scandal, but the deal finally happened...

Market Buzz.(appointments)
February 21, 2005... Mike Donoghue, head of high yield sales at Morgan Stanley, is retiring from the firm, effective March 4. Donoghue, who spent 19 years at the firm, is leaving to spend more time with his family and to pursue other opportunities, according to an...

US Company News.(Winn-Dixie Stores Inc.)
February 28, 2005... It was not really a surprise for market players last week when supermarket chain Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy. That's because the company has been in financial trouble for some time now. Indeed, the Chapter 11 announcement came...

European Company News.(Focus (Finance) PLC)
February 28, 2005... The do-it-yourself (DIY) hardware, house ware and gardening retailer, Focus Finance PLC, was back in the European high yield market last week for the third time in recent memory with a $100 million deal led by ING Group. And while the name may...

Europe.
February 28, 2005... The European high yield market experienced vastly reduced default rates in 2004, but experts say that the tide is now turning and this year, defaults are set to pick up. "Simply put, the default rate cannot go any lower than this," said...

Credit.(debt financing)
February 28, 2005... It is a truth almost universally acknowledged that a boom in new debt issuance drives up corporate default risk. But experts who have predicted a rise in the default rate toward the latter part of this year and into next year have added a...

Ratings.
February 28, 2005... In an effort to provide more detail on recovery prospects and bring greater transparency to the rating process, Fitch Ratings announced recently that it plans to issue two new types of ratings, an issuer default rating (IDR) and a recovery...

Profile.(Waterfall Asset Management)
February 28, 2005... Fund managers Tom Capasse and Jack Ross, who recently launched a new investment company - Waterfall Asset Management - have entered into a new partnership with long-time asset manager M.D. Sass to start a distressed asset-backed securities...

News/Data.(Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Fitch Ratings upgraded Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson out of junk last week and into investment grade territory. The company's senior unsecured rating rose to BBB- from BB+ with a positive outlook. The upgrade reflects the solid financial...

Gainers & Losers: Level 3/Delta.(Brief Article)
February 28, 2005... Level 3 Communications, Inc. headed up the gainers list last week, with the 0/12.875% notes of 2010 moving up 9.75 points to trade at 86.5. The company recently sold $880 million in convertible notes in a private sale and took out the poison...

Market Buzz.
February 28, 2005... Last week, Bank of America announced that Arrington Mixon will become the bank's new global head of credit syndicate, a new position in which she will be responsible for enhancing the integration of the bank's syndicate functions across loans...

Europe.(finance market)
February 28, 2005... The European leveraged finance market has never been busier. Fund managers and bankers, ragged and worn out at year-end 2004, are already exhausted at the sheer pace of activity thus far in 2005, both in the high yield bond and leveraged loan...