High Yield Report articles from July 2004

High Yield Report archives from July 2004

Europe.
July 5, 2004... The biggest deal last week, and certainly the most talked about, was the 5 billion Aries Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH (Aries) sovereign credit-linked notes transaction. This deal is the first tranche of an potential total issuance of between 15...

US Company News.
July 5, 2004... Credit Suisse First Boston has come up with yet another way to maintain its perch atop the high yield corporate bond market rankings: a plunge into the gray area between bank loans and bond debt known as "hybrid" financings. What's more,...

Distressed Debt.
July 5, 2004... Distressed investors in the US are caught between a rock and a hard place these days with default rates reaching new lows and the pool of distressed names to pick from rapidly shrinking. In their search to find value, many have turned to...

The Word Is.(Interest Rates)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... Did the Federal Reserve really raise short-term interest rates for the first time in four years last week? You wouldn't have thought so judging by the reaction by the high yield market, which hardly batted an eyelid as the Fed's Open Market...

Sector Analysis.
July 5, 2004... Asbestos-related credits firmed up last week after Democrats and Republicans moved closer to an agreement regarding the amount of money to be put in the national fund for asbestos victims' claims. "Having been very far apart on reaching an...

Europe.(Hedge Funds)
July 5, 2004... Thursday, July 1, marked the official launch date of a rather unique hedge fund in Europe - the only long/short credit hedge fund dedicated to the leveraged finance space, otherwise known as Picus Capital Management LLP. Having secured $24...

Opinion.(Business Management)
July 5, 2004... With the Federal Reserve taking action on interest rates and with new issuance in many bond sectors down substantially, many Street pros fear the worst for debt. Yet one veteran who has spent a quarter century in debt believes that the good...

Market Buzz.
July 5, 2004... The Potomac Funds, a mutual fund company in New York, started its first high yield bond fund on July 1, the second fixed income fund at the equity-focused investment manager. The fund will be designed for liquidity and will mirror either the...

Gainers & Losers: Sotheby's/ Pegasus.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... Sotheby's Holdings was among the biggest gainers last week, after a reported $36 million dollar profit in May, up from a $27 million loss last year. In addition, investor nervousness about Sotheby's price-fixing charges in the past has...

AMG Fund Data.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... AMG Data Services reported inflows from high yield mutual funds of $2.2 million for the week ending June 30. This marks the first week of inflows in the past four weeks. Year-to-date outflows are now $5.39 billion. Copyright 2004 Thomson...

League Tables.(rankings of financial services)
July 12, 2004... Once again, Credit Suisse First Boston claimed the top spot in second quarter league tables for high yield's top underwriters. But it did manage to further distance itself from second-ranked Citigroup, arranging 67 new issues for a total of...

US market outlook.
July 12, 2004... It hasn't all been clear sailing for the high yield market this year. Concerns over rising interest rates, inflation, oil and geopolitical risk have all played their part in taking the easy winds out of the market over the past quarter. But...

European market outlook.
July 12, 2004... Last year was all about the record returns, but this year will go down as a breakthrough year for many in the European high yield market. Not only is issuance on track to reach record volumes, but also the diverse nature of this year's issuance...

The Word Is.(high yield forecast)(Brief Article)
July 12, 2004... We are already at the halfway point of the year and for those of you who didn't already know it, the euphoric days of the high yield market are over. As we researched our half-year wrap pieces for this week's HYR, it was evident that market...

Syndicated Loans.
July 12, 2004... To flex or not to flex? That's the big question for Europe's syndicated loan market at the end of the first half of this year, as it comes to terms with JP Morgan's bold move to flex down margins on a GBP450 million facility for the buyout of...

Credit Analysis.(Brief Article)
July 12, 2004... Independent research firm, Gimme Credit has introduced a new feature called "Gimme Five!" - a report of five credits chosen by Gimme Credit's senior high yield analysts as having attractive yields in a tight market. First released last week,...

Profile.(Joy Ferguson spoke with Rob Cook about the firm's strategy)(Interview)
July 12, 2004... JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management's high yield product had been taken care of by the firm's investment grade portfolio manager and research analysts. Not any more. The investment management company hired Rob Cook on June 1, 2004 to manage its...

Market Buzz.(credit ratings forecasts)
July 12, 2004... The global speculative-grade default rate fell to 3.3% in June, according to Moody's Investors Service in a report released last Thursday. That's down from 3.4% in May and 4.2% at the end of the first quarter 2004. What's more, the second...

AMG Fund Data.(Brief Article)
July 12, 2004... AMG Data Services reported inflows from high yield mutual funds of $439.67 million for the week ending July 7. This marks the second week of inflows in the past five weeks. Year-to-date outflows are now at $4.951 billion. Copyright 2004...

Gainers & Losers: Solutia/Colt.(Brief Article)
July 12, 2004... While still in the bankruptcy process, Solutia bonds traded up last week with the 6.72% notes of 2037 gaining four points to trade at 59.625. Bondholders were encouraged by news that a debt-to-equity swap would no longer take place. In...

Sector Analysis.
July 19, 2004... Investors have been rushing into movie theater debt recently, but some are questioning whether rating agencies are behind the curve when it comes to upgrading debt, much of which is rated triple-C, from companies in the sector, while the same...

Leveraged Loans.
July 19, 2004... With further interest rate hikes looming, many traditional high yield investors are looking at leveraged bank loans as a place to put their money, especially amid the high yield market's relatively low returns and coupons. Not only are they...

US Company News.
July 19, 2004... The proposed $5.2 billion merger of top gaming companies Harrah's Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment has completed a shockingly swift consolidation of all the top casino players in the US, and now gaming bankers expect the next tier of...

The Word Is.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... The primary market is certainly showing signs of quieting down as we head into the summer lull - indeed it seems that the European market has shut down two weeks earlier than usual - but there is always the secondary market to keep investors,...

Credit.(Financial Services)
July 19, 2004... Corporate cash balances for double-B to single-A-rated companies have been expanding since early 2001, but that doesn't necessarily mean that companies are putting that cash toward paying down debt. According to a Fitch Ratings study released...

Europe.
July 19, 2004... A trio of deals was scheduled to hit the European high yield market in as many days last week, giving investors a final chance to buy paper before the market shuts down. Despite varying sentiment towards each of the deals, all managed to price...

Profile.(Company Profile)
July 19, 2004... Change is afoot at Credit Suisse First Boston, as Brady Dougan, the investment bank's new CEO, announced his new management team last week. Despite some notable departures from CSFB's executive management, Dougan was able to persuade most to...

Indices.(Security Industry News)
July 19, 2004... Merrill Lynch has recently proposed a number of possible rule changes that will impact criteria and calculation methodologies for the Merrill Lynch Global Bond Indices, and a few modifications would relate to ratings within the high yield...

AMG Data Services.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... reported inflows to high yield mutual funds of $339.57 million for the week ending July 14. This marks the third week of inflows in the past six weeks. Year-to-date outflows are now $4.612 billion. Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All...

Market Buzz.
July 19, 2004... Fitch Ratings recently launched coverage of several credit swap derivatives indices including the new Dow Jones CDX North American High Yield CDS index and the new iTraxx Europe CDS index for investment grade credits. Announced last week, the...

Market Buzz.(RBS Greenwich Capital)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... With a decent showing this year already, RBS Greenwich Capital is planning a significant expansion of its CDO group, affirming its commitment to the sector with the hire of Romita Shetty who starts later this month. Shetty was formerly...

Gainers & Losers: Advantica/AMR.(Securities)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... The big gainers last week included Pegasus Communications as its 9.75% bonds of 2006 trading up five points to 55.625. Word on the street is that Peninsula Capital, which owns the majority of Pegasus, plans to possibly merge the company with...

Market View.
July 26, 2004... Recent economic data for June has shown that US consumer prices excluding food and energy rose at the slowest pace of the year, leaving the Federal Reserve comfortable with the slow, methodical approach to an increase in interest rates and...

Secondary Market Is Junk Trading Drying Up?
July 26, 2004... Many small high yield corporate bond boutiques are in the midst of a trading drought that could prove fatal for some. Junk bankers ranging from those at top-ranked firms to European players to boutiques all agreed that secondary trading has...

US Company News.
July 26, 2004... Just as many predicted, merger and acquisition activity has picked up in recent weeks and is helping drive much of the new issue activity recently. But while a slew of M&A-related deals hit the market last week, including deals from Jean Coutu,...

The Word Is.(active portfilio management has advantages over passive)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2004... In almost all asset classes - providing those markets are efficient - when it comes to investment style, passive management tends to beat active management. When it comes to high yield, however, some debate has long existed among portfolio...

US Company News.(BNP Paribas )(Brief Article)
July 26, 2004... BNP Paribas has been making waves in the financial markets recently, placing at No. 15 in the second quarter high yield league tables for arrangers of dollar-denominated new issuance and continuing to make its strong presence felt in Europe....

CDOs.(collateralized debt obligations, collateralized loan obligations)
July 26, 2004... With European loan volume so far in 2004 at an all-time high - 35.4 billion for the first half of this year - the pipeline for European collateralized loan obligation (CLO) issuance is stronger than ever. Four European CLOs were completed in...

Profile.(Cynthia Cole)(Joe Robison)
July 26, 2004... Cynthia Cole and her investment team at National City Investment Management Company's Armada Funds are not shy in seeking out opportunities in sectors that are not necessarily en vogue. In fact, one sector the team is very positive on is...

Market Buzz.(Ivy Trzebucki)(Anthony Robertson)(Craig Abouchar)
July 26, 2004... Ivy Trzebucki has joined CIBC World Markets as an associate on the high yield sales desk. Trzebucki came to CIBC from Source Capital Group, where she preformed a dual function as both an analyst and salesperson, researching and selling...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
July 26, 2004... In HYR's Market Buzz' section (6/14), the headline should have read that Geoffey Manna joins BNP Paribas's leveraged finance team as managing director, not CSFB. Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved....

Market RoundUp.(Investment companies)
July 26, 2004... High yield is still outperforming other asset classes, according to analysts at a recent Deutsche Bank breakfast briefing. As of July 19, US high yield returned 2.93%, compared with 1.52% for high grade corporates. Global high yield...

AMG Data Services.(Brief Article)
July 26, 2004... AMG Data Services reported inflows to high yield mutual funds of $196.6 million for the week ending July 21. This marks the fourth week of inflows in the past seven weeks. Year-to-date outflows are now $4.416 billion. Copyright 2004...

Gainers & Losers: Atlas Air/ATA Hldgs.(Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc.)(ATA Holdings Corp.)
July 26, 2004... Big gainers last week included Riggs National on news that it was bought by PNC for $779 million. The 9.65% notes of 2009 moved up nine points to trade at 115.625, according to Advantage Data. Atlas Air Worldwide Holding's plan for exiting...