April 2006
all page content
all page content
Main body page content
LATEST ARTICLES
-
Spanish bank forms a joint venture with alternatives specialist Vega to cater for institutional investors.
-
The UAE capital markets received a boost last month when National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) issued a Dh2.5 billion ($680 million) tier 2 convertible bond through a private placement. It is the first time this type of hybrid security has been issued in the UAE.
-
Plans by International Index Company (IIC) and Eurex to launch a CDS future have yet to resolve the question of how cash settlement will be achieved on reference entities that have defaulted. But once this problem has been solved, the initiative should open up the CDS market to investors that have so far been blocked from trading the OTC market.
-
There is a consensus view that European equities are cheap and that M&A will continue to drive the market up and keep the liquidity flowing. This rosy vision is built on the assumption that earnings will remain strong, that global growth is re-accelerating, that the risk from inflation is minimal and that interest rates are therefore likely to remain low.
-
The volume of European equity capital market deals from the real estate sector has been growing strongly over the past two years and is expected to increase again this year.
-
Excellent market conditions, M&A, special situations and heightened insurance activity drove record subordinated supply in the first quarter; more deals are in the pipeline.
-
NIBC is planning a hybrid capital deal linked to the 10-year constant maturity swap rate. The deal, via lead manager Morgan Stanley, is fixed for the first five years at a whopping 8% before switching to the 10-year CMS plus 10 basis points. The coupon is capped at 8% with no floor. Such deals were extremely popular until a year ago but hybrid capital referenced to CMS coupons has fallen out of vogue since. The sector boomed during 2004 and the first quarter of 2005, with borrowers attracted by the highly aggressive all-in after-swap funding costs. But after the curve flattened many of these securities have traded at prices in the low 80s. With the curve as flat as it is, it seems the view is that the downside is now limited.
-
Ed Mizuhara has left Lehman Brothers where he ran the sovereign, supranational and agency syndicate, to join Credit Suisse. He will report to John Fleming, head of syndicate, who moved fast to find a replacement for Nick Dent. Dent resigned in February to join Merrill Lynch.
-
-
Chief executive of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange thinks pressure is building for exchange-traded model.
-
The London Stock Exchange’s shareholders clearly have a lot to gain from Nasdaq’s bid for the market, especially if, as is widely expected, the New York Stock Exchange joins in the fray and pushes up the price even further. But what, if anything, users stand to gain is far from clear.
-
Urban Vietnamese are leaping on the capitalist bandwagon, driving it as fast as they can in an effort to build a lead on the foreign companies that will inevitably tap a burgeoning market.
-
Are hedge fund databases trustworthy...
-
A report from Ibbotson Associates indicates that the returns reported in hedge fund databases are often much higher than they should be because of backfill bias and survivorship bias.
-
It seems no one has the right returns
-
-
Bank is making use of its wide geographical experience to build cross-border expertise.
-
There has been a lot of talk about the use of computerized trading in foreign exchange. Discussions at a recent seminar in London suggest that there is real substance, not just hot air, behind the chat.
-
Rising personal bankruptcy levels and an uncertain economic outlook in the UK might suggest that non-conforming and sub-prime mortgage lending is not the smartest business line to jump into at the moment. Try telling that to the succession of new entrants now preparing to try their luck in this sector – one in which veterans might suggest that they are already 10 years too late.
-
As if investment banks didn’t compete enough with each other already, London-based employees of Barclays Capital, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley couldn’t resist the opportunity to swap pinstripes for cricket whites in the chill of February for what has been billed the City Indoor Cricket Championship, held in Docklands.
-
-
“Oh, these are among the most toxic instruments we’ve created. And they’re absolutely a bull market instrument. In a bear market, it’s not a question of maybe losing just a percentage point. You can lose 10 points in a heartbeat.”
-
The first wave of easy returns on commodities has passed, while allocations continue to grow. Traditional players are having adapt to a much more liquid market, swimming with a new breed of investors and their active hedging strategies. Peter Koh examines the changes.
-
The EU’s emissions trading scheme and Kyoto’s clean development mechanism are succeeding in promoting renewable energy. But electricity utilities are turning out to be surprise beneficiaries. Peter Koh reports.
-
Economic pressures and government policies are driving investment inland, but many of the so-called second cities already boast powerful economies. Banks see a new frontier of opportunity. Chris Leahy reports from the cities of Chengdu, Wuhan and Qingdao.
-
The US hybrid market has suffered a setback following a recent NAIC ruling.
-
Sheikh Mohammed Al-Thani has many roles. As Qatar’s economy and commerce minister he presides over the world’s fastest-growing economy. He is also chairman of the Qatar Financial Centre and the Doha Securities Market. Al-Thani is considered one of Qatar’s most forward-looking policy-makers, a man who has great ambitions for the Gulf state. Talking to Sudip Roy in Doha, he outlines the economic progress of Qatar and argues that it will become the financial services hub for the Middle East.
-
Banks’ credit research departments are readying themselves for a turn in the credit cycle towards a higher level of defaults and volatility. Florian Neuhof reports on the state of play.
-
Treat your back-office staff well lest they take umbrage and run away to a hedge fund.
-
Investor demand for US commercial property-backed debt is rapidly increasing, with strong bids coming from Europe and Asia. An exciting new range of structured finance and derivatives products is on offer, but issuers and investors might be biting off more than they can chew. Kathryn Tully reports.