High Yield Report articles from July 2006

High Yield Report archives from July 2006

Market View: Here Come The Summer Blockbusters.(Armor Holdings, Windstream)
July 3, 2006... The first of the summer blockbusters hit the high yield primary market last week, amid a spate of issuance with all the trappings of a big-screen drama. Two jumbo telecommunications-related deals came to market facing an environment that...

US Company News: Six Flags Bonds Fall On Expected Q2 Shortfall.
July 3, 2006... Though Six Flags bonds have been on a downhill slide for the better part of a year, investor confidence in the company's turnaround kept the notes from taking a major dive. That is, until the company's June 22 conference call to investors, at...

Firms: Industry Groups Unite To Conquer.(Securities Industry Association and the Bond Market Association merged to form Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association)
July 3, 2006... The need to contend more actively with state and federal regulatory pressures has finally pushed two capital markets industry associations to agree to merge, after years of hemming and hawing. The Securities Industry Association (SIA) and...

US Company News: Tenet's Future Clearer After DOJ Verdict.(Department of Justice, Tenet Healthcare Corp.)
July 3, 2006... The cloud of uncertainty hanging over Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s bonds lifted partially last week after the company reached a $900 million settlement with the US Department of Justice regarding Medicare fraud allegations. Tenet's stock and bonds...

Derivatives: New DPCs Set To Emerge.(derivative product companies)(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... While derivative product companies (DPCs) - essentially highly rated swap counterparties - have been around for years, what is new to the market is the surge in the number of such entities in the pipeline, market participants say. Industry...

Europe: Smoother Road Ahead For European Autos.(automobile industry)
July 3, 2006... While the woes of the US automobile industry show no sign of abating, investors are looking for hopeful signs across the Atlantic. Indeed, market sources say the European auto sector, despite some profitability issues, is in far stronger shape...

Gainers & Losers: Adelphia/Radnor.(Adelphia Communications Corp., Radnor Holdings Corp.)(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... Adelphia Communications Corp. saw gains last week thanks to a bankruptcy judge who gave the company permission to sell its assets to New York-based Time Warner Corp. and Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. in an estimated $17 billion deal. The...

Market Buzz: Dahlman Rose Forms Leveraged Finance Group.(Dahlman Rose & Co.)
July 3, 2006... Dahlman Rose & Co., a boutique investment bank specializing in marine transport, energy, natural resources and related industries, announced last week the formation of its leveraged finance group. The group, which will be headed by managing...

Private Equity: Private Equity Firms Try To Locate Sweet Spot' In Middle Market.
July 3, 2006... A freshly minted acronym, "Jammbog," is starting to percolate through the private equity market. Coined at a recent buyouts conference, the moniker stands for "Just Another Mid-Market Buy-Out Group." It is a direct reflection of the growing...

Derivatives: Derivatives Go Electronic.
July 10, 2006... For traders in the credit markets, the advent of electronic trading is an unstoppable force, a looming Godzilla that's both a monster eating up profit margins and a hero promoting transparency as it rampages though one product area after...

European League Tables: Euro HY Hopes For More Deal Diversity.(high yield)
July 10, 2006... Although there were many complaints about the lack of new issuance in the European high yield debt market this first half-year of 2006, total volume nevertheless topped out at $16.402 billion, according to data from Thomson Financial. This is a...

US League Tables: Bonds Sail Smooth In 1H 2006.
July 10, 2006... Like rivers, market streams may divide and diverge, but they often meet again - in rapids and waterfalls. Despite robust underwriting and price performance in the debt capital markets for the first half of 2006, that's what bankers are afraid...

Gainers & Losers: GM/Levi.(General Motors Corp.)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... On the back of a proposed alliance that could completely transform the auto industry as we know it, General Motors Corp. (GM) made the gainers list last week. The alliance, which would include Nissan Motor, Renault of France and GM, was...

Market Buzz: Thrivent Launches New Diversified Fund.(Thrivent Investment Management launched the Thrivent Diversified Income Plus Fund)
July 10, 2006... Thrivent Investment Management has launched the Thrivent Diversified Income Plus Fund, which will be led by Mark Simenstad, head of fixed income mutual funds at Thrivent Investment Management. The fund incorporates high yield bonds,...

Market View: Making Sense Of The Credit Spread Conundrum.(Merrill Lynch and Company Inc.)
July 10, 2006... Credit spreads have proved a riddle to some investors lately, as they continue to remain historically narrow. And despite recent widening, many wonder why spreads have not widened out further, given that equities - especially those of lower...

AMG Data Services.
July 10, 2006... High yield corporate bond funds reported an inflow of $98 million for the week ended July 5, 2006, according to AMG Data Services. (c) 2006 High Yield Report and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.highyieldreport.com...

Regulation: Hague Plan Moves For Global Securities Laws.(Hague Securities Convention)
July 17, 2006... A six-year international initiative to clarify the laws governing cross-border securities deals culminated earlier this month in the joint signing by the US and Switzerland of the newly drafted Hague Securities Convention. The treaty is...

US Company News: Investors Eye Robust Merger Activity.
July 17, 2006... With plenty of investor demand for new high yield debt, market players expect the M&A wave - and the number of junk deals financing these transactions - to remain strong, at least for the near term. "The proportion of high yield funding...

Rating Agencies: Views Mixed On Rating Agency Bill.
July 17, 2006... Debt market participants had a mixed reaction last week to the passage of a bill seeking to overhaul rating agency regulation through the US House of Representatives. The Credit Rating Agency Duopoly Relief Act of 2006 (HR 2990), which has been...

Firms: Wachovia Pays Fine For Research Conflicts.(Wachovia Securities Inc.)
July 17, 2006... It has been three years since the global research analyst settlement was announced, but it appears not every firm on the Street got the message. Not only did Wachovia Securities' capital markets group get hit with a big fine for...

Credit: Little Action For June Default Rates.
July 17, 2006... Moody's Investors Service reported that the global speculative grade default rate was at 1.8% for the 12 months ended in June, remaining unchanged from its level in May. Moody's forecasts this default rate will rise moderately over the coming...

Profile: ABN Amro Asset Management Sticks To Quality.
July 17, 2006... At a time when triple-C rated assets have been the best performers in the high yield universe, managing a portfolio with an overall bent toward higher quality has not been easy - and Todd Youngberg, global high yield portfolio manager for ABN...

AMG Data Services.
July 17, 2006... High yield mutual funds reported $71.6 million in inflows for the week ended last Wednesday, according to AMG Data Services. High yield funds have reported weekly inflows to AMG only five times thus far this year. (c) 2006 High Yield...

Gainers & Losers: Stanadyne/Dana.(Stanadyne Holding Corp.)(Brief article)
July 17, 2006... Charter Communications Holdings settled onto the gainers list last week with the help of a number of positive forces. For starters, the US cable carrier raised approximately $896 million by selling two of its geographically non-strategic cable...

Restructuring: Separating Wheat From Chaff: The Art Of Turnaround Investing.
July 17, 2006... by Kevin Prokop, director, Questor Management Company Turnaround investing, it seems, is all the rage in the world of private equity and alternative assets these days. In the 10 years that Questor has been in the business, the field of...

Market Buzz: Two New Partners Join Bracewell & Giuliani.(appointments at Bracewell & Giuliani)(appointments at Barclays Capital Inc.)(Donald Cassidy retires)
July 17, 2006... Bracewell & Giuliani has expanded its New York office to include 27 lawyers following the addition of four new hires. Among the new hires are two partners, David C. Albalah, specializing in bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, and Julian...

Distressed Debt: Secondary Markets Await Enron Appeal.
July 24, 2006... Federal District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin may soon dramatically alter the secondary market for a range of debt instruments if she decides not to hear an appeal against a bankruptcy court ruling sought by a handful of distressed debt...

Europe: Euro Deals Are Still Lookin' Good.
July 24, 2006... With risk aversion in the US credit markets on the rise, and the high yield forward calendar filling with deals of lower credit quality, some US investors are setting their sights on new paper from European issuers. Last Tuesday, UK-based...

Market View: Shareholder-Related Fears Take Center Stage.
July 24, 2006... Dodgy corporate accounting - once the foremost fear of market players earlier in the decade - has now taken a back seat among fixed income investors to another looming menace: shareholders. In a survey conducted by Fitch Ratings and the...

Mezzanine: Mezz Issuance Set To Swell.
July 24, 2006... With recent talk of expanding Libor spreads on first lien loans, and pushback on covenant lite facilities, issuance in the second lien market appears to be facing some challenges. This has some mezzanine arrangers - including ones that compete...

Market View: HY Reacts Variably To Mideast Conflicts.(high yield)
July 24, 2006... In the midst of the recent escalating violence between Israel and militant groups including Hezbollah, the high yield bond asset class' performance has deviated somewhat compared with historical performance during past Middle Eastern conflicts,...

Deal Profile: Enterprise Products Makes Junk's Hybrid Security Debut.
July 24, 2006... Just in case high yield investors were getting tired of the plain vanilla bond deals that fill their portfolios day in and day out, a new structure has recently become available. The security in question offers a high degree of credit quality...

Market Buzz: RBC Hires Doyle, Nako For Research.(RBC Capital Markets appoints Brian Doyle, Suela Nako)(executive reshuffle at Miller Tabak Roberts Securities)(appointments at Proskauer Rose L.L.P.)
July 24, 2006... RBC Capital Markets has hired Brian Doyle and Suela Nako for the firm's high yield research group. Doyle joins as a director, focusing on distressed and bankrupt credits. He was most recently with Wachovia Securities as a managing director...

Gainers & Losers: Hertz/HCA.(Brief article)
July 24, 2006... The Hertz Corp. (Hertz) landed near the top of the gainers list last week on the back of Hertz Global Holdings' announcement that it filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the...

AMG Data Services.
July 24, 2006... After two weeks of reporting net inflows, high yield mutual funds are back in familiar outflow territory: for the week ended last Wednesday, high yield funds reported $72 million in outflows, according to AMG Data Services. (c) 2006 High...

US Company News: Get Ready For HCA To Lever Up.
July 31, 2006... Though the initial tremors created by HCA's leveraged buyout (LBO) announcement have come and gone in both the debt and equity markets - the company's stock nudged up to just under the $51 bid price last week, while many of its bonds plummeted...

Distressed Debt: Where Has The Default Cycle Gone?
July 31, 2006... It's an old rule of thumb: two or three years after Wall Street raises too much debt capital for iffy issuers, companies start to default. If that point in the default cycle coincides with an economic slowdown, defaults can shoot up...

Regulation: Options Scrutiny May Hit HY Cos Harder.(high yield companies)
July 31, 2006... With stock option-timing inquiries having become the securities investigation du jour, rumors of inquiries have spread like wildfire among all types of public companies. However, high yield companies may be particularly susceptible to...

Credit: Moody's To Soften Fall Of I-Grade Angels.
July 31, 2006... In a move that will magnify the process of downgrading companies to speculative grade, Moody's Investors Service is altering its approach to transitioning investment grade ratings. The new approach will downgrade companies based on...

Sector Analysis: Restaurants Starved For Upgrades.
July 31, 2006... Despite people eating out at an ever-increasing rate, it looks like some restaurant chains are still facing a slew of challenges. Indeed, the restaurant industry has a higher-than-average risk profile, according to a recent report by Standard &...

Company Profile/data: Star Gas Looks To Grow After Capital Structure Makeover.
July 31, 2006... Last year, home heating oil company Star Gas Partners was in the process of hiring an advisor - Jefferies & Co. - to seek strategic alternatives to address its balance sheet deterioration. Disappointing performance and investor discord over its...

AMG Data Services.(Brief article)
July 31, 2006... High yield mutual funds reported $56.1 million in net inflows for the week ended last Wednesday, according to AMG Data Services. The number of funds reporting inflows was 168, while the number of funds reporting outflows was 207. (c) 2006...

Gainers & Losers: GM/Tenet.(General Motors Corp.)(Tenet Healthcare Corp.)(Brief article)
July 31, 2006... Adelphia Communications Corp. made the gainers list last week on the back of progress among its intercreditor dispute. The dispute, which revolves around how to distribute proceeds of its sale to Time Warner Cable and Comcast Corp., has...

Market Buzz: BNP Paribas Taps Jalazo For Derivatives Role.(appointments at Barclays Capital )(Deutsche Bank appoints Zahed Chowdhury)
July 31, 2006... BNP Paribas announced last week the appointment of Brian Jalazo as head of corporate derivatives marketing in the US. In this newly created position, Jalazo, a managing director, will report to Jim Turner, head of debt capital markets for North...