The insurance sector is outperforming this morning on the news that 6 companies are eligible for TARP funding. Most cash bonds in those names are up ~$5.
Most recent new issues are holding firm during this respite. At this point, no major investment grade deals in are the queue while WMT brought a 5 year bond yesterday.
Barclays has placed BGI on the block. This will only add to the angst of the buyside as consolidation does not often bode well for their employment; remember that Columbia Management is also 'for sale.'
In an additional positive sign for 'risky' assets, yet another investor is raising money to buy distressed bonds (called DIP bonds). In this interesting, but largely unrelated story, a bankruptcy judge removed CSFB from the 'head of the line' of lenders to the Yellowstone Club due to it's aggressive lending practices.
Pfizer has said that it will provide free prescriptions, including Viagra, to unemployed and uninsured workers. Credit spread reaction was flaccid.
Secondary volumes were steady yesterday while the ratio of 'dealer sells' vs 'dealer buys' remains stubbornly high at ~3x.
Flows into investment grade bond funds were ~$1.4B for the week bringing YTD inflows to ~$54B. Contrast this with equity fund flows of $7.9B for the week and a YTD outflow of ~$61B.
In a slight reversal of last week, higher quality has slightly outperformed lower quality credit.
Alcoa is credit spread underperformer on the week due to fears of oversupply and/or China flooding the market.
No comments:
Post a Comment