High Yield Report articles from June 2008

High Yield Report archives from June 2008

Money Rolls Right In For HY Bond Funds.
June 2, 2008... Funds that invest in high yield bonds have experienced a rate of inflows unseen for almost five years, according to recently released data. High yield bond funds took in $358 million for the week ending May 21, according to research firm...

As Firms Cut Back, Cantor Fitzgerald Staffs Up.(Interview)
June 2, 2008... At a time when most large investment banks are slashing their fixed-income teams, Cantor Fitzgerald is making a hiring push in its debt capital markets group. Shawn Matthews, who heads the group and is based in New York, runs a sales and...

Credit Suisse Reorganizes Structured Products Unit.
June 2, 2008... Credit Suisse recently reorganized its structured products and CDO groups. These changes come after the firm shut down origination activity, cut positions and reduced its risk exposure, according to an internal memo at the bank. Mike...

Over There! Europe Needs New Debt Structures.
June 2, 2008... While bankers in Europe have finally begun to adopt new strategies designed to unclog the bloated European loan pipeline, some say the need now is for change in the way leveraged loan vehicles are structured. "Bankers need to step back and...

HY Primary Rocks; Companies Roll Out Tenders.
June 2, 2008... The primary high yield market continued its improved pace last week with the pricing of three new issues by Thursday for a total of $975 million. The rate of new issuance picked up substantially last month, with May seeing more than $12.47...

Data Tagging Regs Could Help Credit Markets.
June 2, 2008... Electronic tagging is not just for wildlife anymore. Credit market analysts, investors and others may soon get a helping hand in the form of new regulations pushed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which would have all public companies...

Improving HY Market Fears Oil Shocks.
June 2, 2008... High yield investors continued to cautiously find their way back to the market last week. Volumes remained steady and price fluctuations among the top gainers and losers were less than in past weeks. While some economic indicators have shown...

Investors Prepare For More Debt Exchanges.
June 9, 2008... Despite what seems like a newly reopened primary market, portfolio managers are preparing for more waves of forced debt exchanges, as companies with debt maturing seek to pay it off with more debt. The trend promises to continue over the coming...

Bright Future For Alternative Energy Debt?
June 9, 2008... Let's take a look into my crystal ball, into the future to a debt market with a new breed of issuer-energy companies. But not the oil and gas and energy services types that have lately been streaming onto the high yield bond primary market,...

Gaming Credits A Roll Of The Dice.
June 9, 2008... Recent bankruptcies and downgrades have put the spotlight on the gaming industry, an industry that, until recently, investors had thought was somewhat recession-proof. There are a variety of factors putting the screws to the gambling sector,...

Banks Kick Off $1.7B Lender Processing Deal.
June 9, 2008... JPMorgan and Bank of America held a bank meeting last week to launch a $1.725 billion credit facility for Lender Processing Services, a newly formed company spun off from Fidelity National Informational Services' division for handling banks and...

Washington Probes Underwriting Practices.
June 9, 2008... The Senate Banking Committee plans to hold a hearing tomorrow, June 10, to examine underwriting practices at some of the top investment banks, according to Reuters. The wire service reported that representatives from several firms, including...

Could Refinancings, Amendments Hurt Debtholders?
June 9, 2008... Companies that received debt financings during the buyout boom are going to face a harsh reality in the coming years: Refinancing maturing debt or amending financial covenants is going to be a costly affair, one that could restrict debt...

HY Market Endures Highs And Lows.(High Yield)(Report)
June 9, 2008... The high yield secondary market dealt with both good and bad news last week, as a cautious recovery was tempered by signs that the credit crisis was still with us. Investors agree that things are better than they were in March, but that doesn't...

CDS Spreads Point To Further Trouble.
June 16, 2008... Credit default swap spreads have widened in recent weeks after months of tightening, and analysts and investors agree this could be bad news for the leveraged finance markets. Consider CDS spreads to be the spooky orchestral music you hear...

Claire's Stores Bonds, Loans Tumble.
June 16, 2008... Claire's Stores' debtholders last week might have felt akin to fickle tweens at a shopping mall, as they dumped the troubled mall retailer's bonds and loans like the latest fashion, causing the prices of these securities to plunge. On...

Picking The Perfect Partner For Your Portfolio Of Love.
June 16, 2008... Standing on summer's doorstep always makes me feel frivolous. Not to mention that I'm a tad tired of those wacky jokesters over at the DealBreaker Web site having all the fun. I mean, they get to cuss and everything. Last week, they zeroed...

Tudor Picks Up Bear Distressed Team.
June 16, 2008... A team of distressed debt bankers from Bear Stearns is joining hedge fund Tudor Investment Corp. to lead a new investment management business specializing in credit-related strategies, according to High Yield Report's sister publication,...

Market: Pacific Lumber Ruling Burns Bondholders.
June 16, 2008... A recent ruling by a federal bankruptcy court judge has angered many in the high yield bond community, who feel his decision to allow Pacific Lumber Co. to sell off an affiliate's timberland assets as part of a reorganization plan was unfair to...

Credit Management Evolves With the Times.(Interview)
June 16, 2008... It has been a tumultuous year in the credit markets, especially for portfolio managers who have been charged with the task of coming up with successful investment strategies, despite the industry's volatile state. At the heart of the credit...

Inflation Fears Haunt HY Market.
June 16, 2008... Fears about inflation dominated the outlook on the economy last week. High yield secondary trading was light at times, reflecting the general risk aversion that continues to define the marketplace. Oil prices remained high last week,...

Underwriters Launch Pieces Of Clear Channel Debt.
June 23, 2008... Underwriters last week launched a $3 billion chunk of a $10.7 billion term loan B for Clear Channel Communications. The deal comes nearly one month after private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital Partners and a consortium...

Debtholders Reject Consent Solicitations.
June 23, 2008... Portfolio managers are going to put up more resistance to changes in bond and loan agreements, meaning there will be tougher negotiations ahead as more distressed companies seek greater financial flexibility to survive. Debtholders may demand...

Power Hitters Find Home, While Little Guys Strike Out.
June 23, 2008... As corporate recruiters like to say, there is always a demand for talent. In other words, investment banks tend to follow a code similar to that of the Soprano family-you don't whack a good earner. Not unless you've got a whopper of a reason....

Firmer Secondary Raises Hope For European Primary.
June 23, 2008... In the final stretch of the second quarter, prices in the European leveraged loan secondary market have firmed up considerably, and with most of the widely traded name snow trading at above 90 cents on the dollar, market participants are...

Landry's Set To Serve Up Platter Of Debt.
June 23, 2008... Just when you thought the leveraged finance markets had had their fill of consumer-related deals, a restaurant company is cooking up a fresh serving of debt for investors to snack on. Landry's Restaurants agreed to be acquired by Chairman...

Is InBev Too Big For Its Broek?
June 23, 2008... The credit markets certainly seem to have taken a big leap forward, if Belgian beer brewer InBev has been able to secure a colossal $40 billion in bank financing for its intended $46 billion purchase of U.S. beer giant Anheuser-Busch. InBev...

PE Firms + Corporates = Gay Marriage?
June 23, 2008... Some partnerships can fuel brilliance. Take Mick Jagger and Keith Richards or Ben and Jerry, for example. Others, however, like punk rock's Sid and Nancy, can leave a path of destruction in their wake. In the leveraged buyout world, the jury is...

Economy Still A Fright Fest For HY.
June 23, 2008... More bad economic news hit the markets last week, as high yield investors tried to keep playing it safe. The coming summer promises a further slowdown, and investors fear that the next wave of corporate returns will bring worse news than the...

CDS Market May Boost Bankruptcies.
June 30, 2008... As if the market needed something else that would push companies toward bankruptcy, the large market for credit default swaps may do just that, according to analysts. Why? Because, these analysts note, CDS holders may not have the same...

Let's Agree To Agree On What Ebitda Means.
June 30, 2008... Ebitda is used as a measure of a company's cash flow and is instrumental in designing covenants for debt and profitability. A company cannot prink itself up with inflated sales numbers or projected income if measurements of its financial health...

The SEC's Plan For The 21st Century: Sunshine.
June 30, 2008... The Securities and Exchange Commission wants you to know stuff. No really, they do. And they have a plan, otherwise known as a "21st Century Disclosure Initiative." In a press release last week, the agency called the plan an "ambitious...

Moody's: Recoveries Slip, Especially For 2nd Liens.
June 30, 2008... Investors in loans and bonds made to junk-rated U.S. companies should expect less back on their investments than in past years if borrowers start defaulting, according to a report from Moody's Investors Service. Moody's assessments project...

Reliance Could Issue Up To $750M In Debt.
June 30, 2008... As a result of its acquisition of PNA Group on June 17, Reliance Steel & Aluminum will issue as much as $750 million in debt come the end of the summer. The acquisition is expected to close in two months, conditional on shareholder and...

Focusing on Loans, Cairn Seeks Advisory Mandates.
June 30, 2008... When London-based investment management firm Cairn Capital entered the European leveraged loan business in February 2006, the market was soaring toward an all-time high, and the firm, like many others during that time, chose to jump into the...

Summer Doldrums Arrive Early For HY.
June 30, 2008... The high yield market wasted no time in slipping into its slower summer mode in secondary trading, as losses were larger than gains and volumes were down. Continued negative economic news and consistent inflationary fears discouraged risk...