August 2007
| Euromoney August 2007 A new Euromoney poll asked leading institutions that invest in alternatives to nominate their dream hedge fund managers across a number of styles and asset classes. One thing is clear – even as the number of hedge funds continues to soar, reputation and track record count most. Helen Avery reports.
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Euromoney August 2007
When Stan O’Neal spoke at the Euromoney Forum in London in late June, concerns about the fallout from the sub-prime correction were at their height. In a wide-ranging interview with Euromoney’s editor, Clive Horwood, Merrill Lynch’s chairman and chief executive discussed the market’s reaction to sub-prime, and whether or not the contagion would spread.
Euromoney August 2007
After many years during which change was merely incremental, electronic trading in debt markets is about to be fundamentally transformed. New entrants and platforms have emerged or are mooted, and fresh partnerships are being considered as incumbents find their value proposition under pressure. Dealers and clients will face a completely new way of debt trading. By Alex Chambers.
Euromoney August 2007
The investor revolt in the leveraged loan market during June and July was long overdue and much needed. But have the excesses of the past few years left the LBO market teetering on the precipice of a far more serious credit squeeze? Louise Bowman reports.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney’s latest survey of the leading banks in structured
credit shows a clear top tier of five investment banks. They say
that providing fresh ideas to clients is what keeps them at the
head of the pack.
Euromoney August 2007
The number of wealthy individuals in Latin America is growing fast on the back of high commodity prices, buoyant equity markets and foreign interest in acquisitions and IPOs. Private banks are adapting quickly, developing new products to attract investors intent on diversifying from their traditional reliance on fixed income and offshore investment. Jason Mitchell reports.
Euromoney August 2007
Environmental, social and governance issues are increasingly prominent with regard to investment management in emerging markets. However, does taking a principled approach to portfolio construction offer the opportunity for greater returns, or leave investors with one hand tied behind their backs?
Euromoney August 2007
Only four years ago, the kind of research familiar to more developed capital markets was almost unknown in the Middle East. However, the quality of information available to investors is improving rapidly as global banks establish footholds. But Saudi Arabia, the region’s biggest market, has been left behind. Dominic O’Neill reports.
Euromoney August 2007
Investment-grade issuers balk at increased costs.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Are Pfandbrief issuers out of touch with modern rating methods?
Euromoney August 2007
HSBC has beefed up its DCM operation, making a number of hires – especially from Nomura.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Dealers are hoping a new-look contract will finally get the European leveraged loan credit default swap market off the ground.
Euromoney August 2007
The recent contraction of liquidity has changed the landscape.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Every so often the insurance-linked securities (ILS) sector rears its head and FIG bankers get excited that they will have a rich vein of new assets to bring to the capital markets. Around two years ago the great hope was that value in force (VIF) securitizations from UK insurance companies would take off following a couple of landmark transactions and regulatory encouragement from the Financial Services Authority, but activity there has slowed to a near halt. Once again there are now signs that investment banks and insurance brokers are ramping up their product capabilities amid a pick-up of deal flow in the past year.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
It is not uncommon in any market for an underlying to gravitate towards certain option strikes as they near maturity. In foreign exchange, which is arguably the most sophisticated options market, it is increasingly the barrier component of exotic trades that acts as the magnet. The amount of leverage certain structures can provide results in huge buying and selling of the underlying as participants try to defend or knock out the barrier.
Euromoney August 2007
If, as expected, US regulator the National Futures Association implements a proposal it has sent out to its 43 forex dealer members (FDMs), the result will be that many firms will have to attract fresh funding or close down.
Euromoney August 2007
With the fifth anniversary of the creation of the Continuous Linked Settlement Bank (CLS) fast approaching, the Bank for International Settlements committee on payment and settlement systems has issued a reminder to the market that further progress can still be made to reduce settlement risk.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Row over charges for trades routed through execution system.
Euromoney August 2007
London Stock Exchange takes on Euronext with launch of dedicated market.
Euromoney August 2007
Structured product providers were last month encouraged to conduct "know your distributor" approval processes in order to ensure that only appropriate distributors be allowed to pass on complex derivatives-based investment products to the retail and high-net-worth markets.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Illiquid hedge funds should stop smoothing returns, report urges.
Euromoney August 2007
Private equity and hybrids are main planks of growth strategy aimed at taking merged company to third place.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
But there are signs that the supply of suitable targets is contracting.
Euromoney August 2007
China study dispels misconceptions about performance.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Nick Evans, editor of EuroHedge, applauds the creation of a hedge fund manager working group.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Financial sponsors turn attention to the region.
Euromoney August 2007
Quinenco, the largest shareholder in Banco de Chile, and Citi have agreed a partnership in which Citi will have the rights to acquire up to 50% of the holding company that controls Banco de Chile.
Euromoney August 2007
Country is now a net creditor, paying off external debts and developing local markets.
Euromoney August 2007
Latin American mutual funds are the best performers in the world year-to-date according to fund tracker Morningstar,which reports rises of 32.26% for the first half of 2007.
Euromoney August 2007
Historically, when the US sneezes, Latin America catches a cold, and Mexico comes down with hypothermia. So what on earth is going on in the market for mortgage-backed securities?
Euromoney August 2007
This month’s plans for a Latin American regional bank hit the rocks as Brazil raised objections to president Hugo Chávez’s plans for the bank.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Investor appetite for exposure to the Russian banking sector shows no sign of weakening, with a series of transactions concluded in recent weeks. Headline-grabbing deals included foreign purchases of stock in MDM Bank and Rosbank. Domestic consolidation also continues, with the sale of LipetskComBank to Bank Zenit the latest example.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Two MBS transactions have become the Gulf region’s first internationally rated securitizations.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Demand for commodities and improving political and fiscal climates lead rapid growth across sub-Sahara region.
Euromoney August 2007
Albania has finally secured a credit rating in a move that the authorities in Tirana hope will help boost the Balkan republic’s investment profile with international investors. Moody’s Investors Service assigned a Ba1 country ceiling for foreign-currency bonds and a B1 issuer rating to the government. Moody’s also awarded a B2 foreign-currency bank deposit ceiling along with a local-currency country ceiling of A3 and a local-currency bank deposit ceiling of Baa1. All ratings carry a stable outlook.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Emerging market debt has held up well in the face of a nascent credit crunch in developed markets.
Euromoney August 2007
Downgrading tranches and revising criteria will not convince the market that the rating agencies are on top of the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
Euromoney August 2007
Japan’s equity bounce-back has lost momentum. But there are good grounds for believing that a floor has been reached and that renewed buoyancy is around the corner.
Euromoney August 2007
Investors will still want access to the best-run funds.
Euromoney August 2007
Investment house issuance on private electronic markets relieves them of regulatory burdens and speeds up funding. But poor liquidity remains a problem.
Euromoney August 2007
It has been the ‘everybody has won and all must have prizes’ market so far in 2007. That phrase was uttered by a (fictional) Dodo. Now it is time for Darwinism to reassert itself.
Euromoney August 2007
Bond markets are still too sanguine about inflation prospects. But present global growth rates will inevitably drain liquidity from the financial system.
Euromoney August 2007
What exactly is causing weakness in the credit markets? The obvious answer is contagion from the sub-prime crisis – the fear is that there will be massive losses from the original securitizations of these poor-quality loans and the CDOs backed by these securitizations.
Euromoney August 2007
There is a lot going on in the swaps industry right now.
Euromoney August 2007
Euromoney August 2007
Investment banking has long been a demanding profession. Bankers have been accustomed to always-on cell phones, the ubiquitous BlackBerry and late-night meetings. Spare a thought, however, for one banker caught between a call from the boss and a call of nature.
Euromoney August 2007