High Yield Report articles from November 2004

High Yield Report archives from November 2004

Politics.(2004 United States presidential elections)
November 1, 2004... Conventional wisdom would have us believe that Wall Street, by the very nature of its business, would unequivocally favor a Republican administration over a Democratic one. But the 2004 US presidential election has been so hotly contested that...

Europe.(European banks could soon start giving the cold shoulder to their lower-rated clients without knowing the ultimate impact of the upcoming Basel II regulatory agreements)
November 1, 2004... European banks could soon start giving the cold shoulder to their lower-rated clients without knowing the ultimate impact of the upcoming Basel II regulatory agreements, set to be completed by 2007. Call it a pre-emptive sobering up. While...

US Company News.(Fitch Ratings downgraded Maytag Corp. to junk status)
November 1, 2004... Fitch Ratings downgraded Maytag Corp. to junk status last week, after the company delivered weaker-than-expected operating performance in 2004. The downgrade doesn't bode well for Maytag, or the wider durable home appliance market, for that...

Q&A.(Interview)
November 1, 2004... Putnam Investments' Putnam New Flag Euro High Yield Fund celebrated its fifth birthday in September. One of the oldest funds in the European high yield market with an impressive 125 billion currently under management, the fund bears the...

Market Buzz.(Arklow Capital)
November 1, 2004... Greg Shrock, formerly director of research at Mellon HBV Alternative Strategies, and Jeff Gramm, a former senior analyst who reported to Shrock, will launch Arklow Capital, LLC on December 1, 2004. The new hedge fund is starting with a sizeable...

Market Buzz.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... BNP Paribas recently announced the expansion of its Chicago institutional fixed income sales team with the appointments of Liz Kullman to its high yield sales desk, Gene Zmuda to its short term sales desk, Paul Lucchesi to its high grade sales...

AMG Data Services.(AMG Data Services reported $56.52 million of inflows into high yield mutual funds)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... AMG Data Services reported $56.52 million of inflows into high yield mutual funds for the week ending October 28. This is the first week of inflows into the asset class in one week and brings the year-to-date cumulative total to a negative...

Loans.(BNP Paribas launched syndication of a $175 million credit to support the buyout of ProPex Fabrics)(ProPex Fabrics)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... BNP Paribas launched syndication last Thursday of a $175 million credit to support the buyout of ProPex Fabrics, and the bank also plans to complete a $150 million, eight-year senior unsecured notes deal to support the transaction. The credit...

LBO.(Leveraged Buy Out)(International Steel Group agreed to buyout bid from LNM Group)
November 1, 2004... There was big news in the steel industry last week as America's biggest steel maker, International Steel Group, run by Wilbur Ross, agreed to a $4.5 billion buyout bid from a Dutch steel company controlled by Lakshmi Mittal. Mittal is expected...

Gainers & Losers: Cingular/ATA Holdings.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Big gainers last week included Cingular Wireless, which saw its 7.125% bonds of 2031 move up 27 points to trade at 112.625. The company completed its acquisition of AT&T, making it the largest wireless provider in the US. The new entity, which...

US Company News.
November 8, 2004... Some market players attributed the heavy rally in the high yield market last week last week to the re-election of President George W. Bush, but according to several sources, there might have been other factors at play. High yield rallied,...

Int'l Company News.
November 8, 2004... SK Corp., the largest oil refiner in South Korea as well as a regular participant in the international high yield bond markets and a holder of bank debt, is in a pitched battle with some of its foreign shareholders despite the company's...

Deals.
November 8, 2004... It's uncertain how many more income deposit securities (IDS) - a tax-efficient hybrid of dividend-paying stocks and high yielding debt that resembles income trusts in Canada - will be issued in the market, even after B&G Foods successfully sold...

SyndicatedLloans.
November 8, 2004... Middle market collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) are getting hotter, as loan investors continue to search frantically for loan supply to put their money toward, and as middle market loan issuance - which generally consists of loans for $100...

Ratings.
November 8, 2004... In a report released last week, Moody's Investors Service observed a link between its relatively new speculative-grade liquidity (SGL) ratings product - a liquidity score that was first launched in October 2002 and focuses more specifically on...

Europe.
November 8, 2004... Near perfect conditions in Europe's high yield market have bankers anticipating a slew of jumbo leveraged buyout (LBO)-related deals that would boost what has already been a bumper year for junk issuance. But with LBOs driving the market, how...

Market Buzz.
November 8, 2004... Merrill Lynch recently announced the addition of the new US Crossover Corporate Index, which will include all BBB and BB bonds. Analysts at Merrill Lynch noted that all combinations of BBB and BB assets offer an opportunity for either more...

HYR People News.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... High Yield Report would like to welcome Judy McDermott as its new Managing Editor. Judy was most recently a Senior Reporter for HYR's sister publication Bank Loan Report. Judy joined Thomson Media more than a year ago after working at...

Gainers & Losers: Delta/Fedders.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... American Commercial was the biggest gainer last week, as its 11.25% notes of 2008 rose 36 points to trade at 102.625. The company just last month announced a sale of its interest in Global Materials Services, after filing its plan for...

Credit.
November 8, 2004... Although the market has, for the most part, been on the up-and-up in terms of credit quality, it looks like one industry - the supermarket industry - could be in for some not so healthy times ahead. Factors such as increased competition,...

Market View.
November 15, 2004... First, it was deal covenants and use of proceeds. Now, the limits are being pushed on deal structures themselves. In the ongoing bull market for high yield debt, issuers are finding they can capture increasingly aggressive deal structures -...

Industry.
November 15, 2004... The sudden uptick in coal prices this year is putting the pinch on electric utilities, with some fearing that if price inflation continues to be a factor in 2005 it could derail long-term plans by utilities to emerge from non-investment grade...

Distressed Debt.
November 15, 2004... International opportunities in distressed debt investing continue to be a main point of interest for investors and turnaround management experts alike. And with an increasing number of US firms setting up shop in Europe and elsewhere, the...

People News.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... Join Fitch High Yield Push Phelps Hoyt, an analyst at KDP Investment Advisors, is set to join his former colleague - ex-KDP staffer Eric Tutterow - at Fitch Ratings in Chicago next month. Tutterow left KDP - a Montpelier, Vt.-based bond...

Euro Distressed Debt.
November 15, 2004... The unraveling of Italy's Parmalat may be Europe's largest financial flop but it's far from the first. Yet note holders are unclear as to what recoveries, if any, they can anticipate from the insolvency process currently underway in Italian...

Int'l Company News.
November 15, 2004... Foiled in its attempt to take its case to fellow shareholders, investor Sovereign Asset Management Ltd. is now turning to the South Korean courts to settle its dispute with the board of SK Corp. (HYR, 11/8). Sovereign, a Monaco-based...

Profile.
November 15, 2004... If debt products form the foundation of Banc of America Securities' business, high yield underwriting now looks to be one of the cornerstones. Helped in part by its premier leveraged lending platform, the Charlotte, N.C.-based universal...

Distressed Investors Gamble On Opportunities.
November 15, 2004... Distressed investors and turnaround pros met at The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas last week for the Sixth Annual West Distressed Debt Investing Forum, presented by Strategic Research Institute. The two-day event included discussions...

Gainers & Losers: AMR/Int'l Wire.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... Gainers last week included Owens Corning with its recent announcement of a net cash flow of $59 million. This compares with a $32 million loss one year ago. The company's net income almost doubled from $48 million to $83 million. The news...

Hedge Funds.
November 22, 2004... Hedge funds are starting to get away with greater lock-up periods, which is the period of time that investors are required to keep their money in a fund before they can cash in their shares. This is, some believe, because as hedge funds...

Market View.(high yield bonds)
November 22, 2004... For most people, Thanksgiving means a delectable turkey meal. For HYR, its means presenting readers with this year's traditional "turkey deal," something several investors are not so thankful for. This year's winner, a name high yield...

Derivatives.(hedging methods by corporates)
November 22, 2004... Over the past couple of years, an increasing number of corporates have been using derivatives to hedge against potential risks associated with interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, equities and commodity prices. At the same time,...

Bankruptcy.(bankruptcy court orders try to liberate tax regime)
November 22, 2004... The new and improved model NOL (net operating loss) order for dealing with tax credits generated by bankrupt companies is now complete and available for all debt and equity market constituents, according to The Bond Market Association (BMA) and...

US Company News.
November 22, 2004... Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. may be able to shape up, even though it faces increasingly tough competition from both high-end and low-end health clubs entering and succeeding in this ever-growing industry. Investors have recently become...

Q & A.(questions and answers)(interview )(Interview)
November 22, 2004... B&G Foods is one of the first US issuers of the Enhanced Income Security (EIS) structure, a financing tool David Wenner, president and CEO, believes to be a good fit for his company's business profile. Similar to income trusts in Canada,...

Gainers & Losers: Delta/Kaiser.(Delta Air Lines Inc., Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp.)(earnings)(Brief Article)
November 22, 2004... Last week's gainers included Delta Air Lines, which saw many of its bonds move up roughly five points. The 10% notes of 2008 jumped from 57.625 to 62.625. The gains have continued from a few weeks ago when Delta received its pilot concessions...

US Company News.
November 29, 2004... Wynn Resorts Ltd. was one of the big issuers last week, beefing up its initial deal for $1.1 billion in 6.625% first mortgage secured notes of 2014 to $1.3 billion. While investors complained about the tight spread on the notes, they also...

Market View.(retail industry)
November 29, 2004... The 2004 holiday shopping season is in full swing, but it is still uncertain how successful the retail sector will be, say several high yield analysts. Outlooks by analysts and economists this season range from somewhat positive to slightly...

Credit.(analysis of the emerging market economy)
November 29, 2004... The outlook for emerging market economies looks good, which is encouraging news with respect to the prospects of positive rating actions going forward, according to a report put out recently by Standard & Poor's analysts Diane Vazza and Devi...

Industry.(banking needs to improve more to sustain profitability)
November 29, 2004... The relatively healthy banking industry has been managing record amounts of capital and peak returns, but as Barry Kroeger, deputy director of Americas banking and capital markets practice at Ernst & Young LLP (E&Y), says, there are still...

Syndicated Loans.(Riley Property Holdings)(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... On the heels of the recent successful credit syndication of real estate investment trust (REIT) General Growth Properties' massive $7.245 billion credit facility, yet another real estate company - LNR Property Corp. - is set to tap the loan...

Profile.(Merrill Lynch and Company Inc.)(Company Profile)
November 29, 2004... As the stock market was collapsing around it, Merrill Lynch & Co. watched with interest when finance giant General Electric Capital Corp. shelled out $5.3 billion in 2001 for Heller Financial, a middle market lender based in Chicago. Merrill,...

Market Buzz.(employee turnover at J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.)
November 29, 2004... Several employees in various departments at JP Morgan have departed in what the firm is calling a reorganization of its US operations. Jeremy Barnum, co-head of US credit trading left the firm recently, along with managers in private...

Gainers & Losers: Stericycle/Boise Cascade.(Stericycle Inc. gains)(Boise Cascade Corp. loses)(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... Last week's gainers included Stericycle, a company that offers medical waste management and other related services, with its 12.375% notes of 2009 jumping 7.125 points to trade at 113.625. The company reported $107.5 million in operating income...