Sarah OConnor
CDS report: Bernanke helps pull bank spreads lower
The cost of insuring corporate debt against default fell on Wednesday as global equity markets perked up and Ben Bernanke chipped in on behalf of financials.
Mr Bernanke’s offer to extend US investment banks’ access to emergency cash into next year was greeted with enthusiasm by most credit market participants.
CDS report: Equity sell-off blows spreads wider
European credit markets deteriorated on Tuesday as a wave of selling hit the continent’s shares. The iTraxx Crossover – a key barometer of risk appetite – jumped 20 basis points to 559bp.
The possibility that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might need to raise more cash knocked Wall Street,
CDS report: market hammers US car industry
The credit market turned against the American car industry this week, with the perceived creditworthiness of US car-widget-makers plunging at a faster pace than anything else overnight.
The cost of
CDS report: Prepare for spiking spreads this summer, says Lehman
This summer could well be bloodier for credit markets than frenzied mid-March, Lehman Brothers warned on Monday, joining Royal Bank of Scotland which made a similar prediction last week.
“I know it looks all well this morning,
CDS report: credit market punishes HBOS
HBOS’ debt looked riskier on Thursday, with traders stumping up 6 per cent extra to buy protection against the risk of the bank defaulting after it revealed the quality of its mortgage book had deteriorated.
CDS report: in its own world?
The cost of protecting corporate debt against default slid back to lows not seen since May on Tuesday morning, having shrugged off a grim few weeks for equities and government bonds as inflation fears rocked those markets.
CDS report: “Bad things come to those who wait”
The credit bears were licking their chops on Wednesday as resurging problems for banks punctured hopes that the worst of the credit crisis was over.
The cost of protecting the debt of investment grade and junk-rated companies against default has climbed recently after a protracted period of falling costs.
CDS report: are credit markets too obsessed with oil?
A spat was breaking out in credit market circles on Friday as a quiet trading session gave analysts time to ruminate on the story of the fortnight: oil.
When the price of crude punched through $135 a barrel last week,
CDS report: Ericsson lifts sentiment
Friday saw a string of European companies report decent first-quarter results, cheering credit markets and lowering the perceived riskiness of European corporate debt.
The cost of insuring the debt of Swedish telecoms company Ericsson fell back dramatically after the company reported results that beat the market’s (low) expectations.
CDS report: who’s next?
Recapitalisation was the buzzword in credit markets on Wednesday, as investors weighed up the benefits of Royal Bank of Scotland’s £12bn rights issue and pondered who would be next to ask their shareholders for cash.
CDS report: credit markets give tepid response to SLS
Credit markets began the week on an uncertain note in Europe, with the cost of protecting debt against default edging higher as investors weighed up the Bank of England’s new liquidity facility.
The iTraxx Crossover index,
CDS report: retailers feel the pain
The cost of protecting retailers’ debt against default rose on Thursday after DSG International, the European electrical goods retailer, issued its second profit warning in three months.
First quarter earnings season has kicked off on a sour note on both sides of the Atlantic,
CDS report: the rally buckles
The storming rally in credit derivatives hit reverse gear on Tuesday, as momentum failed and investors drove up the cost of protecting debt against default.
With equities falling, dismal earnings from US aluminium-maker Alcoa and persistent calls from credit strategists that the rally was overdone,
CDS report: Spreads tighten in spite of bearish warnings
Credit analysts have heaped scepticism on the recent rally in credit derivatives, but there were few signs on Friday that the positive momentum was letting up.
The iTraxx Crossover index, a closely-watched measure of risk-appetite,
CDS report: the rally keeps on rolling
Credit markets refused to be shaken from their buoyant mood on Thursday as the cost of protecting European debt against default continued to fall.
The iTraxx Europe index, which measures the cost of protecting 125 investment-grade credits against default,
CDS report: credit markets shrug off UBS writedown
It wasn’t just equity markets that welcomed UBS’ mammoth $19bn writedown; credit derivative markets cheered the news too and shaved 7 per cent from the cost of protecting the bank’s debt.
Spreads on UBS’ credit default swaps fell by 9 basis points on Tuesday to 128bp,
CDS report: credit markets sober up
A quiet morning for European credit derivative markets saw spreads edge wider on Friday, with the mood much more cautious after fears about brokers reignited.
US stocks and credit markets had taken a turn for the worse on Thursday,
CDS report: credit market rally peters out
Credit spreads crept wider in Europe on Wednesday as poor economic data from the US took the edge off the market’s bullish mood.
The week’s storming rally petered out as credit investors weighed up fresh data showing falling house prices and plummeting consumer confidence in the world’s biggest economy.
CDS report: It’s rollover day!
The big event in the European credit default swap world on Thursday was the “roll over” of the major iTraxx indices.
The biannual roll sees less liquid names removed from the indices and more liquid ones added.
CDS report: “We are close to a financial system meltdown”
Credit markets were reeling on Monday after the fire-sale of Bear Stearns, with credit indices reaching record levels on both sides of the Atlantic.
Fears that other banks or brokers could also run into trouble sent the iTraxx Europe index of investment-grade debt to a record 164.9 basis points,
CDS update: Bear Stearns 1-year protection soars to $1.25m
News of the Bear Stearns bail-out blew out its CDS spreads to 1250bp for one year’s worth of protection, though no-one was willing to sell protection even for that price, according to data from Phoenix Partners.
CDS report: Spreads pull back from record highs
Credit markets experienced a lull on Friday morning after Standard & Poor’s said the end of subprime writedowns was in sight, but few expected the calmer mood to last.
The iTraxx Europe, which measures the cost of protecting 125 investment-grade credits against default,
CDS report: Is Carlyle the tip of an iceberg?
Carlyle Capital defaulting on its debt sent new ripples of fear through credit markets on Thursday, compounded by falling stocks and the slumping dollar.
Fragile sentiment took a hit after the highly-leveraged fund said it was unable to meet snowballing margin calls,
CDS report: Fears of a major failure persist
If credit market participants thought they were already pricing in worst-case scenarios, Monday’s rumours (later denied) that Bear Stearns was in serious trouble prompted a re-think.
“The market has already priced in some pretty bad scenarios.
CDS report: more reasons not to be cheerful: CMBS writedowns
Credit markets staggered back from the brink on Tuesday, pulling away from Monday’s all-time highs for Europe’s credit indices.
But without any positive news, the mood remained edgy as credit investors eyed sinking stocks.
CDS report: “For sale! The credit market.”
There was little sign of a relief rally in credit markets on Thursday, as European credit indices caught in a vicious circle remained near their record peaks.
Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank summed up the mood with this note:
CDS report: Crossover breaks 600bp
The iTraxx Crossover punched through the 600 basis point level on Wednesday as a slew of bad news provided added gumption to fears of unwinding structured products.
The Crossover index of 50 mostly junk-rated credits jumped 32bp to 610.9bp,
CDS report: “Horrible” fall-out scenario preoccupies market
Credit market participants took a shellshocked pause on Monday, with the spectre of more structured product unwinds hanging heavily over the market.
Trade was thin in Europe, but spreads did not recede far from the record wides reached on Friday,
CDS report: Speculation a structured product is being liquidated
Protecting European corporate debt against default became more expensive than ever before on Friday, with the indices of investment grade and risky debt hitting all-time highs.
Traders and analysts said they thought a CDO or CPDO was being unwound.
CDS report: Fallen angel back on stairway to heaven
The cost of protecting Invensys’ debt fell by over a fifth on Thursday after the UK manufacturer said it would buy back its high-yield bonds.
Its shares also jumped after the maker of rail signals and washing machine parts posted much better-than-expected profits.