High Yield Report articles from January 2006

High Yield Report archives from January 2006

US League Tables: Battle Rages On For Universal Banks.
January 9, 2006... Like disciplined distance runners, the high yield bankers at JPMorgan paced themselves in 2005, staying right on the heels of Banc of America Securities (BofA) in terms of total US dollar-denominated issuance for the first three quarters of the...

Market View: Will Pension Funds Return To HY In 2006?(High Yield Income Fund Inc)
January 9, 2006... Due to a shaky year in US high yield, an exodus of capital departed the asset class in 2005 - retail mutual funds saw $11.7 billion leave the high yield asset class over the course of the year, according to AMG Data Services. The Leverage World...

European League Tables: European Junk Down, But Not Out.
January 9, 2006... While the European high yield bond market performed under many analysts' expectations in 2005, market players hope that the sector can revive in 2006 despite some warning signs in its sister market across the Atlantic. European high yield...

Bankruptcy: Supreme Court Asked To Review Owens Corning Ruling.(Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp)
January 9, 2006... The US Supreme Court has been asked to weigh in on the ongoing legal dispute over the proposed application of substantive consolidation in the Owens Corning (OC) bankruptcy settlement. However, it is yet to be seen whether the petitioners will...

Strategy: Resist The Urge To Go Conservative.(debt)(Brief article)
January 9, 2006... The teetering of the yield curve between flat and inverted has created a challenging market environment for debt investors. One challenge for investors relates to their tendency to invest too conservatively during times like these, said Leo...

Private Equity: The Private Equity Party Is Expected To Roll On In 2006.
January 9, 2006... The party is by no means over in private equity. As good as things were in 2005, this year may be even better, with bigger funds, bigger deals, more investment banking fees, and returns at least as good as last year, observers predict. ...

AMG Data Services.(high yield mutual fund's flows)(Brief article)
January 9, 2006... High yield mutual funds started off the year with a net inflow of $8.7 million for the week ended last Wednesday, reported AMG Data Services. The inflow broke a three-week string of outflows, which most recently included a $371 million exodus...

Market Buzz: Libertas Recruits RBC's Elkaim To Head Up Sales, Trading.(Scotia Capital Inc.'s new bond indices, New York Society of Security Analysts cahnges address)(Daniel Elkaim)
January 9, 2006... Daniel Elkaim, formerly the head of high yield sales and trading at RBC Financial Group's RBC Capital Markets, has left the bank to join Libertas Partners. Elkaim arrived at the high yield and distressed broker dealer last Tuesday in his new...

Gainers & Losers: Ford/Dura.
January 9, 2006... Although Ford Motor Co. and Ford Motor Credit were both hit with a two-notch downgrade by Standard and Poor's last Thursday, to BB- from BB+, many of the parent company's bonds had traded up five to seven points in the week ended last...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
January 9, 2006... High Yield Report's 12/12/05 article entitled "Distressed Players Find Value In Trade Claims" inaccurately referred to APS Financial Corp. The correct entity is APS Clearing, the affiliate of APS Financial Corp. that conducts business in...

US Company News: Primary Market Starts To Warm Up.
January 16, 2006... After the new issue US high yield market saw a lull in the first week of the year, a handful of notable deals brought it back to life last week. Investors showed interest in the bonds for R.H. Donnelley Corp., which will fund the company's...

Market View: HY Gaming Companies Bet On Pennsylvania.(high yield bonds)
January 16, 2006... Pennsylvania is where the money is, if the volume of casino applications received by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board late last year is any indication. December 28, 2005, was the deadline to apply for one of the 14 casino permits that the...

Hedge Funds: Did HFs Help Cause Calpine's Bankruptcy?(hedge funds)
January 16, 2006... Long before Calpine Corp. filed for Chapter 11 protection on December 20, 2005, market players were aggressively betting on the energy company's fate. Bondholders, both long and short, took positions or dumped their holdings on the name, and...

Europe: Europe May See HY Spread Widening In 2006.(high yield secondary market)
January 16, 2006... After a strong and steady performance in 2005, the European high yield secondary market looks set for another good year, albeit with the prospect for some spread widening as 2006 gets underway, some sources say. But if this does indeed happen,...

Rating Agencies: S&P Goes Live With RatingsDirect 5.0.(Standard & Poor's Corp.)(Brief article)
January 16, 2006... Starting January 9, Standard & Poor's' RatingsDirect service went a step further toward enhancing its clients' credit analysis and ratings needs. That's because S&P went public with RatingsDirect 5.0, the latest version of the service to...

CDOs: Robust CLO Issuance Likely To Continue In 2006, But Risks Remain.(collateralized loan obligation)
January 16, 2006... The pace of collateralized loan obligation (CLO) issuance is expected to remain strong in 2006, as long as leveraged loan issuance, liquidity, default rates, liability and underlying collateral spreads, and investor demand for CLO equity remain...

AMG Data Services.
January 16, 2006... High yield mutual funds reported $6.5 million in net outflows for the week ended last Wednesday, according to AMG Data Services. In seven of the last 10 weeks, high yield funds have been beleaguered by net outflows. (c) 2006 High Yield...

Gainers & Losers: Delta/AES.(Delta Air Lines Inc., General Motors Acceptance Corp., Delco Remy America Inc. and AES Corp.)(Brief article)
January 16, 2006... General Motors Acceptance Corp. (GMAC) bonds continued on what has now become its routine roller coaster behavior. In the week ended last Wednesday the bonds were up, likely due to talk of price cuts on merchandise that are intended to win new...

Market Buzz: Sanders Morris Harris Starts Fixed Income Biz.(Sanders Morris Harris Group Inc. stats new division and T.J. Vigliotta, Josiah Rotenberg promoted in Quadrangle Group, Gilbey Strub appointed to European High Yield Association)
January 16, 2006... Last week, Houston-based Sanders Morris Harris Group announced its establishment of a fixed income business. The new division, headquartered in New York, broadens the firm's offerings and supports its investment banking operations to provide...

Market View: Issuance Momentum Falters, For Now.(high yield market)
January 23, 2006... The primary market's momentum slowed down considerably in the week of January 16, after a hefty $3.8 billion in high yield paper had been issued in the previous week. As of press time last Thursday afternoon, only two deals had managed to clear...

Firms: High Yield's Season Of Giving Is Upon Us.
January 23, 2006... The holidays might be over, but some high yield players are looking forward to that final round of giving known as bonus season. The first quarter of the year is largely known as the time when many high yield players collect their annual...

Spotlight On Fees: Competition Puts The Squeeze On HY Fees.(high yield market)
January 23, 2006... It looks like it wasn't only new issuance - which took a nosedive from $143 billion in 2004 to $98 billion in 2005 - that suffered in 2005's US high yield market, as underwriting fees also appear to have taken a hit. Imputed investment...

European Company News: Ineos Mega Deal Hits Euro Market.
January 23, 2006... Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Barclays Capital took their jumbo 3.1 billion, two-part, dual currency bond issue backing UK chemical company Ineos' buyout of former BP division Innovene on the road last week in Europe. The deal, which would...

Spotlight On Fees: Financial Sponsors Rethink Junk.(funding for leveraged buyouts and junk bonds)(Brief article)
January 23, 2006... Funding for leveraged buyouts (LBO) increased significantly as a percentage of high yield new issuance from 2004 to 2005 - from 13.6% to 21.4%, according to Merrill Lynch data. However, total financial sponsor activity, when considering new LBO...

Observation: Six Major Catalysts Of Today's M&A Market.(mergers and acquisitions)
January 23, 2006... For anyone looking to sell a company, today's M&A market is ripe with opportunity. Credit standards have loosened, and cash rich strategic and financial buyers are competing aggressively for acquisitions - giving sellers the ability to...

Gainers & Losers: Armstrong/American.(General Motors Corp., Armstrong World Industries Inc., American Airlines Inc., Calpine Corp.)(Brief article)
January 23, 2006... General Motors Corp. estimated last week that it could save $4 billion in 2006, although the company stopped short of officially revising its earnings. General Motors Acceptance Corp.'s bonds gained some ground on the news, trading up between...

Market Buzz/news.(Roger Coyle and Graham Martin appointed to Blackstone Group L.P.)
January 23, 2006... The Blackstone Group announced last Tuesday that Roger Coyle and Graham Martin have joined the firm's corporate debt group in London as senior analysts. Coyle comes to Blackstone from Fitch Ratings, where he was director of leveraged...

AMG Data Services.
January 23, 2006... Last week, $129 million exited high yield mutual funds, according to AMG Data Services. High yield funds have reported outflows in nine of the last 12 weeks. (c) 2006 High Yield Report and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ...

US Company News: Industry Reacts To WB/UPN News.(The WB Television Network, United Paramount Network)
January 30, 2006... News that Time Warner's WB network and CBS Corp.'s UPN network will merge later this year to form a new network, called CW, caused some high yield broadcasting company bonds to take a tumble in trading last week. Some companies with affected...

Market View: HY Closed-End Funds Feel The Pressure.(high yield bonds)
January 30, 2006... High yield bonds appear to be becoming the black sheep of the asset classes this year, as many banks, like JPMorgan and Wachovia Securities, are underweight either corporate bonds in general, or high yield bonds in particular. Standard &...

Regulation: Global Accounting Standards To Transition.(International Financial Reporting Standards, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles)
January 30, 2006... In many respects, this year looks to be a transitional one for the corporate accounting universe, especially as the convergence of US and European accounting standards begins to take shape. And as accountants and corporate executives are set to...

US Company News: Medicare Proposal Rattles LTACH Debt.(long-term acute care hospitals)
January 30, 2006... Debt investors got a taste last week of the future problems some speculative grade companies in the healthcare sector might face due to proposed changes in Medicare reimbursement policies. LifeCare Holdings, Select Medical Corp. and Triumph...

Europe: Europe Sees Bigger Shift To Fixed Income.(Brief article)
January 30, 2006... Europe's fixed income markets are getting a lot more attention than its equity markets these days, according to Greenwich Associates' 2005 European fixed income research study. The study found that fixed income assets under management in...

Loan Market Observation:.(middle market's collateralized loan obligation)
January 30, 2006... Despite rising energy and home prices, the war in Iraq and an unusually severe hurricane season, the economy remained healthy in 2005 and middle market (MM) loan origination volume and collateralized loan obligation (CLO) issuance remained...

Gainers & Losers: GMAC/Calpine.(General Motors Acceptance Corp., Dana Corp.)(Brief article)
January 30, 2006... General Motors Acceptance Corp. (GMAC) bonds traded up last week, after its parent company General Motors Corp. reported $4.8 billion in losses for the fourth quarter. Sources say the enormous losses provide more ammunition for an eventual sale...

Market Buzz.(GMAC Institutional Advisors L.L.C. opened new division, GoldenTree Asset Management appointed Robert Matza, Three Peaks Capital Management appointed Brent Olson )
January 30, 2006... GMAC Institutional Advisors announced that it has established a new lending team within its Levered Finance Group that will focus on high yield and opportunistic lending opportunities. The new team, which will help expand the firm's high yield...

AMG Data Services.
January 30, 2006... High yield mutual funds reported net outflows of $270 billion for the week ended last Wednesday, according to AMG Data Services. This is the third consecutive week of net outflows from high yield funds. (c) 2006 High Yield Report and...