Archive for February, 2012

ABK.PR.B: Partial Call for Redemption

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

Scotia Managed Companies has announced:

Allbanc Split Corp. (the “Company”) announced today that it has called 239,120 Preferred Shares for cash redemption on March 9, 2012 (in accordance with the Company’s Articles) representing approximately 24.893% of the outstanding Preferred Shares as a result of the special annual retraction of 239,120 Capital Shares by the holders thereof. The Preferred Shares shall be redeemed on a pro rata basis, so that each holder of Preferred Shares of record on March 7, 2012 will have approximately 24.893% of their Preferred Shares redeemed. The redemption price for the Preferred Shares will be $26.75 per share.

In addition, holders of a further 284,500 Capital Shares and 284,500 Preferred Shares have deposited such shares concurrently for retraction on March 9, 2012. As a result, a total of 523,620 Capital Shares and 523,620 Preferred Shares, or approximately 42.05499% of both classes of shares currently outstanding, will be redeemed.

Holders of Preferred Shares that are on record for dividends but have been called for redemption will be entitled to receive dividends thereon which have been declared but remain unpaid up to but not including March 9, 2012.

Payment of the amount due to holders of Preferred Shares will be made by the Company on March 9, 2012. From and after March 9, 2012 the holders of Preferred Shares that have been called for redemption will not be entitled to dividends or to exercise any right in respect of such shares except to receive the amount due on redemption.

Allbanc Split Corp. is a mutual fund Corporation created to hold a portfolio of publicly listed common shares of selected Canadian chartered banks. Class A Capital Shares and Class B Preferred Shares of Allbanc Split Corp. are listed for trading on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols ABK.A and ABK.PR.B respectively.

ABK.PR.B was last mentioned on PrefBlog on February 27, when DBRS confirmed their credit rating. ABK.PR.B is not tracked by HIMIPref™.

February 28, 2012

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

I could not agree more with Stephen Gordon’s Ode to a High Exchange Rate:

Exports are costs. The goal of international trade is to import goods and services; exports are the price we pay in return. If a higher exchange rate allows Ontario to import more and export less, Ontarians are better off.

I’m perpetually astonished by political attitudes towards exchange rates and dumping. If some foreigner wants to sell me something cheap, I tell ’em “Fine! Back up the truck!”

There’s some interesting colour regarding pain in pension land:

General Electric Co. (GE), Boeing Co. (BA) and 3M Co. (MMM) will join big U.S. employers in making a record $100 billion in 2012 pension contributions, 67 percent more than two years ago, as low interest rates boost companies’ liabilities.

Payments may total $400 billion from 2011 through 2015 to ease underfunding at the 100 largest defined-benefit programs, according to consultant Milliman Inc., which estimated that assets in January were enough to cover less than three-fourths of projected payouts.

There was an excellent result in the latest Vikings vs. Pirates match:

The navy said its ship, the Absalon, had been tracking the pirate vessel for several days near the Somali coast. As the pirate ship tried to leave the coast, the warship called on it to stop, firing warning shots. When the pirate ship didn’t respond, the Danish warship opened fire, according to the statement. The vessel had been used as a base by the pirates for attacks in the region, the navy said.

The only thing I don’t understand is: why did they bother tracking it for several days? I hope this was for intelligence-gathering purposes, because ideally it would have been blown out of the water on sight.

It was another good day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums winning 17bp, FixedResets flat and DeemedRetractibles gaining 15bp. The good sized Performance Highlights table is highly skewed to the upside. Volume was below average.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.2134 % 2,388.6
FixedFloater 4.52 % 3.90 % 38,303 17.47 1 -0.4739 % 3,447.0
Floater 2.80 % 3.06 % 55,420 19.51 3 0.2134 % 2,579.0
OpRet 4.89 % 2.84 % 56,779 1.28 6 0.1665 % 2,503.2
SplitShare 5.31 % 0.18 % 85,942 0.78 4 -0.4688 % 2,661.1
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.1665 % 2,288.9
Perpetual-Premium 5.38 % 2.11 % 115,902 0.17 28 0.1713 % 2,209.5
Perpetual-Discount 5.08 % 4.96 % 197,117 15.45 4 0.3441 % 2,433.8
FixedReset 5.05 % 2.85 % 205,586 2.27 66 -0.0017 % 2,381.1
Deemed-Retractible 4.94 % 3.83 % 239,222 2.94 46 0.1465 % 2,303.0
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
FBS.PR.C SplitShare -1.32 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2012-12-15
Maturity Price : 10.00
Evaluated at bid price : 10.46
Bid-YTW : 0.18 %
SLF.PR.H FixedReset 1.05 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.05
Bid-YTW : 4.29 %
BAM.PR.K Floater 1.05 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-28
Maturity Price : 17.30
Evaluated at bid price : 17.30
Bid-YTW : 3.06 %
IAG.PR.E Deemed-Retractible 1.10 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-12-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.55
Bid-YTW : 4.80 %
ELF.PR.F Perpetual-Discount 1.19 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-28
Maturity Price : 24.52
Evaluated at bid price : 24.76
Bid-YTW : 5.42 %
SLF.PR.G FixedReset 1.45 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.76
Bid-YTW : 4.06 %
IAG.PR.A Deemed-Retractible 1.59 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.67
Bid-YTW : 5.27 %
FTS.PR.E OpRet 2.14 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-01
Maturity Price : 25.75
Evaluated at bid price : 26.75
Bid-YTW : 1.61 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
POW.PR.G Perpetual-Premium 594,733 New issue settled today.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-15
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.47
Bid-YTW : 5.37 %
RY.PR.E Deemed-Retractible 90,883 TD crossed 50,000 at 25.70; Desjardins crossed 30,000 at the same price.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2016-02-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.70
Bid-YTW : 3.77 %
PWF.PR.I Perpetual-Premium 80,252 Desjardins crossed blocks of 40,000 shares, 10,000 and 15,000, all at 25.55.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2012-03-29
Maturity Price : 25.25
Evaluated at bid price : 25.60
Bid-YTW : -5.45 %
PWF.PR.R Perpetual-Premium 65,525 Recent new issue.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.45
Bid-YTW : 5.30 %
TD.PR.S FixedReset 58,729 RBC crossed 56,800 at 25.85.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-07-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.83
Bid-YTW : 2.90 %
TD.PR.G FixedReset 55,690 RBC crossed 49,000 at 27.05.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 27.04
Bid-YTW : 2.59 %
There were 26 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
IAG.PR.F Deemed-Retractible Quote: 26.10 – 26.58
Spot Rate : 0.4800
Average : 0.3670

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.10
Bid-YTW : 5.29 %

BAM.PR.J OpRet Quote: 26.99 – 27.53
Spot Rate : 0.5400
Average : 0.4277

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-03-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.99
Bid-YTW : 3.71 %

GWO.PR.G Deemed-Retractible Quote: 25.62 – 25.95
Spot Rate : 0.3300
Average : 0.2555

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-12-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.62
Bid-YTW : 4.28 %

RY.PR.B Deemed-Retractible Quote: 25.82 – 25.98
Spot Rate : 0.1600
Average : 0.0926

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-08-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.82
Bid-YTW : 3.73 %

BNS.PR.Q FixedReset Quote: 25.91 – 26.09
Spot Rate : 0.1800
Average : 0.1249

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-10-25
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.91
Bid-YTW : 2.99 %

BAM.PR.R FixedReset Quote: 26.40 – 26.65
Spot Rate : 0.2500
Average : 0.1954

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-28
Maturity Price : 23.61
Evaluated at bid price : 26.40
Bid-YTW : 3.69 %

POW.PR.G Achieves Solid Premium on Good Volume

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

Power Corporation of Canada has announced:

the successful completion and closing of an offering of 8,000,000 5.60% Non-Cumulative First Preferred Shares, Series G (the “Series G Shares”) priced at $25.00 per share to raise gross proceeds of $200 million.

The issue was bought by an underwriting syndicate co-led by BMO Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets and Scotiabank.

The Series G Shares will be listed and posted for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “POW.PR.G”. Proceeds from the issue will be used to supplement Power Corporation of Canada’s financial resources and for general corporate purposes.

POW.PR.G is a 5.60% Straight Perpetual announced February 15.

POW.PR.G traded 594,733 shares today in a range of 25.37-48 before closing at 25.47-48, 10×4. The issue will be tracked by HIMIPref™ and is assigned to the PerpetualPremium index. Vital statistics are:

POW.PR.G Perpetual-Premium YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-15
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.47
Bid-YTW : 5.37 %

February 27, 2012

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

There is a report that RBC may buy out the rest of RBC-Dexia:

Dexia SA chief executive Pierre Mariani said he hopes to conclude discussions with Royal Bank of Canada “shortly” regarding the sale of Dexia’s stake in joint venture company RBC Dexia Investor Services.

On Thursday Dexia reported a loss of 11.6-billion euros, warning that unless a group of European countries come through with bailout funds that were promised when Dexia became the first victim of the EU debt crisis last year, it could go out of business.

Ranked among the world’s top 10 global custody banks, RBC Dexia has about $2.74-trillion in client assets under administration. The company was formed in 2006, with both parents taking equal stakes.

Meanwhile, the Maple/TMX deal has been extended again:

A group of Canadian banks and pension funds extended their $3.73-billion offer for TMX Group Inc. until March 30, the fifth delay as it pursues regulatory approval for its agreement to purchase the nation’s main equities and derivatives markets.

The Competition Bureau said Nov. 29 that it had “serious concerns” about the plan in connection with equities trading and clearing settlement, and yesterday said in a statement that it has “no new developments to report” on its review.

It looks like the Competition Bureau guys won’t be getting any plum job offers from the banks any time soon! But OMERS has a good idea:

OMERS CEO Michael Nobrega says he hopes the London Stock Exchange would make another play for the TMX Group if the Maple consortium’s bid doesn’t succeed.

OMERS did not join the Maple group, while a number of other major pension plans did.

“We supported the LSE,” Mr. Nobrega said. He didn’t join Maple because he felt it was a highly leveraged bid and was worried about its chances of success.

Everybody is dancing with everybody else!

National Bank of Canada (NA-T76.590.250.33%)is in talks to sell its Natcan asset management arm to Fiera Sceptre Inc. (FSZ-T7.200.304.35%)in return for a stake of approximately 30 per cent in the merged firm, sources said Friday. The deal could be announced as early as Monday.

Fiera Sceptre, a mainly institutional money manager, was formed in 2010 from the merger of Fiera Capital Inc., founded by Jean-Guy Desjardins, and Sceptre Investment Counsel Ltd.

This deal has been confirmed:

Fiera Sceptre Inc. (FSZ-T8.501.3018.06%) has struck a $310-million deal to buy National Bank of Canada’s asset management arm, a move that sets the stage for an ambitious expansion into the United States.

Fiera Capital, the new name for the merged entity, will have $54-billion in assets and overtake AGF Management Ltd. to become the third-largest Canadian publicly traded asset manager after IGM Financial Inc. and CI Financial Corp.

Under the stock-and-cash deal announced on Monday, the bank will get a 35-per-cent stake in Fiera Capital in exchange for giving up Natcan Investment Management.

And meanwhile, in Greek news:

Greece had its long-term sovereign credit ratings cut to selective default from CC by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, which cited an action by Greece’s government regarding its sovereign debt that began a “distressed debt restructuring.”

The downgrade was triggered after Greece retroactively inserted collective action clauses in the documentation of certain sovereign debt series last week, according to S&P.

ABK.PR.B was confirmed at Pfd-2(low) by DBRS:

Since the rating was last confirmed by DBRS in March 2011, the net asset value of the Company has remained fairly stable, fluctuating between $57 and $64. The current downside protection (as of February 16, 2012) is approximately 56.6%.

The confirmation of the Pfd-2 (low) rating of the Class B Preferred Shares is based primarily on the downside protection and dividend coverage available, as well as on the strong credit quality and consistency of dividend distributions of the Portfolio holdings.

ALB.PR.B was confirmed at Pfd-2(low) by DBRS:

The current yield on the Portfolio shares fully covers the Class B Preferred Share dividends, providing dividend coverage of approximately 1.76 times. The Class A Capital Shares receive all excess dividend income after the Class B Preferred Share distributions and other expenses of the Company have been paid. Current downside protection available to holders of the Preferred Shares is 52.0% as of February 16, 2012.

The Pfd-2 (low) rating of the Class B Preferred Shares is based primarily on the downside protection and dividend coverage available, as well as on the strong credit quality and consistency of dividend distributions of the Portfolio holdings.

It was a slightly positive day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums up 3bp, FixedResets gaining 2bp and DeemedRetractibles winning 4bp. Volatility was quite good, while volume was extremely low.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -1.0906 % 2,383.5
FixedFloater 4.50 % 3.84 % 38,277 17.48 1 1.9324 % 3,463.4
Floater 2.80 % 3.05 % 55,805 19.54 3 -1.0906 % 2,573.5
OpRet 4.90 % 3.35 % 58,807 1.29 6 -0.0640 % 2,499.0
SplitShare 5.29 % -1.52 % 83,934 0.79 4 0.0150 % 2,673.6
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.0640 % 2,285.1
Perpetual-Premium 5.38 % 2.41 % 111,633 0.17 27 0.0341 % 2,205.8
Perpetual-Discount 5.10 % 4.96 % 198,030 15.45 4 -0.8479 % 2,425.5
FixedReset 5.05 % 2.86 % 206,142 2.27 66 0.0153 % 2,381.1
Deemed-Retractible 4.94 % 3.79 % 241,598 2.84 46 0.0384 % 2,299.6
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
FTS.PR.E OpRet -3.00 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-01
Maturity Price : 25.75
Evaluated at bid price : 26.19
Bid-YTW : 3.35 %
BAM.PR.K Floater -1.61 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-27
Maturity Price : 17.12
Evaluated at bid price : 17.12
Bid-YTW : 3.09 %
ELF.PR.F Perpetual-Discount -1.57 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-27
Maturity Price : 24.16
Evaluated at bid price : 24.47
Bid-YTW : 5.48 %
PWF.PR.A Floater -1.14 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-27
Maturity Price : 21.49
Evaluated at bid price : 21.75
Bid-YTW : 2.40 %
CIU.PR.A Perpetual-Premium 1.17 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-27
Maturity Price : 24.71
Evaluated at bid price : 25.00
Bid-YTW : 4.61 %
BAM.PR.O OpRet 1.20 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Option Certainty
Maturity Date : 2013-06-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.10
Bid-YTW : 2.26 %
SLF.PR.G FixedReset 1.39 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.42
Bid-YTW : 4.24 %
GWO.PR.I Deemed-Retractible 1.61 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.99
Bid-YTW : 5.15 %
BAM.PR.G FixedFloater 1.93 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-27
Maturity Price : 21.44
Evaluated at bid price : 21.10
Bid-YTW : 3.84 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
PWF.PR.R Perpetual-Premium 131,606 Recent new issue.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.45
Bid-YTW : 5.29 %
GWO.PR.P Deemed-Retractible 45,136 Recent new issue.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.52
Bid-YTW : 5.17 %
MFC.PR.H FixedReset 43,315 recent new issue.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-03-19
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.15
Bid-YTW : 4.50 %
BNS.PR.T FixedReset 42,701 TD crossed 30,000 at 27.00.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-04-25
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 27.00
Bid-YTW : 2.64 %
CM.PR.E Perpetual-Premium 31,525 Desjardins crossed 30,000 at 26.02.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2012-03-28
Maturity Price : 25.25
Evaluated at bid price : 25.95
Bid-YTW : -21.72 %
RY.PR.E Deemed-Retractible 30,055 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2016-02-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.70
Bid-YTW : 3.77 %
There were 15 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
FTS.PR.E OpRet Quote: 26.19 – 27.44
Spot Rate : 1.2500
Average : 0.8154

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-01
Maturity Price : 25.75
Evaluated at bid price : 26.19
Bid-YTW : 3.35 %

IAG.PR.A Deemed-Retractible Quote: 23.30 – 24.00
Spot Rate : 0.7000
Average : 0.4679

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.30
Bid-YTW : 5.47 %

ELF.PR.F Perpetual-Discount Quote: 24.47 – 25.00
Spot Rate : 0.5300
Average : 0.3887

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-27
Maturity Price : 24.16
Evaluated at bid price : 24.47
Bid-YTW : 5.48 %

IAG.PR.F Deemed-Retractible Quote: 26.36 – 26.74
Spot Rate : 0.3800
Average : 0.2432

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-03-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.36
Bid-YTW : 5.03 %

BAM.PR.J OpRet Quote: 27.11 – 27.55
Spot Rate : 0.4400
Average : 0.3046

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-03-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 27.11
Bid-YTW : 3.48 %

IAG.PR.E Deemed-Retractible Quote: 26.26 – 26.68
Spot Rate : 0.4200
Average : 0.2904

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-12-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.26
Bid-YTW : 5.22 %

New Issue: NXY FixedReset 5.00%+359

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Nexen Inc. has announced:

that we will issue 6 million cumulative redeemable class A rate reset preferred shares, series 2 (the “Series 2 Shares”) at a price of $25 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $150 million on a bought deal basis to a syndicate of underwriters co-led by TD Securities Inc. and Scotiabank.

Nexen has granted the underwriters an option, exercisable prior to closing, to purchase up to an additional 2 million Series 2 Shares at $25.00 per share. If the option is exercised in full, the aggregate gross proceeds would be $200 million.

The holders of the Series 2 Shares will be entitled to receive a fixed cumulative dividend at an annual rate of $1.25 per Series 2 Share, payable quarterly, yielding 5.0 per cent per annum, for the initial fixed rate period ending March 31, 2017. Thereafter, the dividend rate will be reset every five years at a rate equal to the then current five-year Government of Canada bond yield plus 3.59 per cent. The Series 2 Shares are redeemable by Nexen, at our option, on March 31, 2017, and on March 31 of every fifth year thereafter.

The holders of Series 2 Shares will have the right, at their option, to convert their shares into cumulative redeemable class A floating rate preferred shares, series 3 (the “Series 3 Shares”), subject to certain conditions, on March 31, 2017 and on March 31 every fifth year thereafter. The holders of the Series 3 Shares will be entitled to receive quarterly floating rate cumulative dividends at a rate equal to the sum of the then 90-day Government of Canada treasury bill rate plus 3.59 per cent.

The net proceeds of the offering may be used to reduce Nexen’s indebtedness, for capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes. The offering is anticipated to close on or about March 7, 2012, and is subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals.

The Series 2 Shares will be offered in Canada by way of prospectus supplement to the short form base shelf prospectus of Nexen dated June 15, 2011. The prospectus supplement will be filed with securities regulatory authorities in all provinces of Canada.

Update: Rated Pfd-3, Stable Trend, by DBRS

February 24, 2012

Saturday, February 25th, 2012

It was another positive day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums up 9bp, FixedResets gaining 9bp and DeemedRetractibles winning 33bp. PerpetualDiscounts – all four of them! – shot up 69bp to decrease the Bozo Spread (Current Yield PerpetualDiscounts less Current Yield FixedResets) to zero again. Not much volatility. Volume was average.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.0176 % 2,409.8
FixedFloater 4.59 % 3.97 % 38,515 17.37 1 0.2421 % 3,397.7
Floater 2.77 % 3.03 % 56,569 19.59 3 -0.0176 % 2,601.9
OpRet 4.89 % 3.18 % 58,382 1.29 6 -0.2362 % 2,500.6
SplitShare 5.29 % -0.91 % 85,054 0.79 4 -0.1991 % 2,673.2
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.2362 % 2,286.6
Perpetual-Premium 5.38 % 0.88 % 111,557 0.18 27 0.0872 % 2,205.0
Perpetual-Discount 5.05 % 4.93 % 199,317 15.51 4 0.6871 % 2,446.2
FixedReset 5.05 % 2.85 % 207,796 2.32 66 0.0945 % 2,380.8
Deemed-Retractible 4.94 % 3.82 % 244,017 2.81 46 0.3297 % 2,298.7
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
POW.PR.D Perpetual-Premium -1.03 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-24
Maturity Price : 24.35
Evaluated at bid price : 24.87
Bid-YTW : 5.06 %
RY.PR.W Perpetual-Premium 1.02 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2012-03-25
Maturity Price : 25.50
Evaluated at bid price : 25.75
Bid-YTW : -6.96 %
ELF.PR.F Perpetual-Discount 1.06 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-24
Maturity Price : 24.62
Evaluated at bid price : 24.86
Bid-YTW : 5.39 %
GWO.PR.I Deemed-Retractible 1.29 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.61
Bid-YTW : 5.35 %
GWO.PR.H Deemed-Retractible 1.43 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.75
Bid-YTW : 5.10 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
PWF.PR.R Perpetual-Premium 212,410 Recent new issue.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.40
Bid-YTW : 5.31 %
MFC.PR.H FixedReset 135,321 Recent new issue.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-03-19
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.10
Bid-YTW : 4.54 %
MFC.PR.A OpRet 105,622 Desjardins crossed blocks of 50,000 and 34,000, both at 25.40.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Soft Maturity
Maturity Date : 2015-12-18
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.43
Bid-YTW : 3.55 %
GWO.PR.P Deemed-Retractible 103,101 Recent new issue.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.45
Bid-YTW : 5.20 %
CM.PR.J Deemed-Retractible 59,237 TD crossed 50,000 at 26.00.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.25
Evaluated at bid price : 26.00
Bid-YTW : 3.57 %
RY.PR.L FixedReset 52,790 Desjardins bought 38,500 from CIBC at 26.30.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-02-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.35
Bid-YTW : 2.83 %
There were 30 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
CIU.PR.A Perpetual-Premium Quote: 24.71 – 25.08
Spot Rate : 0.3700
Average : 0.2383

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-24
Maturity Price : 24.42
Evaluated at bid price : 24.71
Bid-YTW : 4.66 %

GWO.PR.M Deemed-Retractible Quote: 26.21 – 26.60
Spot Rate : 0.3900
Average : 0.2852

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.21
Bid-YTW : 5.32 %

BAM.PR.T FixedReset Quote: 25.39 – 25.74
Spot Rate : 0.3500
Average : 0.2540

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-24
Maturity Price : 23.28
Evaluated at bid price : 25.39
Bid-YTW : 3.78 %

SLF.PR.G FixedReset Quote: 23.10 – 23.50
Spot Rate : 0.4000
Average : 0.3057

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.10
Bid-YTW : 4.46 %

RY.PR.F Deemed-Retractible Quote: 25.56 – 25.80
Spot Rate : 0.2400
Average : 0.1614

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2016-05-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.56
Bid-YTW : 3.89 %

BAM.PR.H OpRet Quote: 25.27 – 25.45
Spot Rate : 0.1800
Average : 0.1180

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Soft Maturity
Maturity Date : 2012-03-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.27
Bid-YTW : 3.50 %

SLF: S&P Affirms Rating, Removes Watch, Sets Outlook Negative

Friday, February 24th, 2012

Standard & Poor’s has announced:

  • In December 2011, Sun Life announced it would cease issuing individual life and annuity contracts in the U.S.We believe Sun Life’s U.S. business segment, including the run-off operations, will likely generate more than C$300 million annually in pretax operating earnings that supports earnings diversity.
  • Accordingly, we are removing our ‘A’ ratings on Sun Life Financial Inc. from CreditWatch and affirming them, and affirming our ‘AA-‘ ratings on its core North American subsidiaries.
  • The negative outlook on holding company Sun Life Financial Inc. reflects that fixed charge coverage may not rebound to the levels we expect in 2012.


“The rating action reflects our opinion that the group’s (Sun Life) 2012 after-tax operating earnings will come in between $C1.4 billion and C$1.5 million expected for the ratings following depressed results in 2011,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Robert Hafner.

Furthermore, we expect that the U.S. business segment, including the operations the group placed in run-off in December as a result of the cessation of U.S. individual life and annuity contract sales, is likely to contribute more than C$300 million annually to consolidated earnings. This will adequately support earnings quality and diversification at SLF that helps satisfy our expectations for maintaining the two-notch difference between our ratings on SLF and SLA. Normally, there is a three-notch difference between the ratings on North American insurance holding companies and the ratings on subsidiaries. Although the earnings from the U.S. run-off operations will gradually decline, we expect the results to provide ample opportunity for the organization to generate replacement earnings from other businesses.

In addition, Sun Life’s mutual fund platform (MFS) generated C$271 million of after-tax operating earnings in 2011. Although we view mutual fund earnings to be of lower quality than insurance earnings, MFS does contribute to earnings diversification and is an unregulated source of earnings.

The negative outlook on SLF is because we could widen the notching between the company and its core operating insurance companies to three notches from two by lowering the ratings on SLF if fixed charge coverage does not rebound to expected levels in 2012. We could lower the ratings if we believe that it will not maintain earnings diversification as the U.S. individual life and annuity business runs off by replacing U.S. earnings with other sources. We could revise the outlook to stable and affirm the ratings if SLF restores fixed charge coverage to more than 5x.

The Negative Watch was reported on PrefBlog on December 14. In the interim, Moody’s downgraded SLF. S&P rates the preferreds P-2(high); DBRS viewed the 11Q4 results as non-material and maintains the preferreds at Pfd-1(low).

SLF has the following preferred shares outstanding: SLF.PR.A, SLF.PR.B, SLF.PR.C, SLF.PR.D and SLF.PR.E (DeemedRetractible) and SLF.PR.F, SLF.PR.G, SLF.PR.H and SLF.PR.I (FixedReset). All are tracked by HIMIPref™ and assigned to their respective indices.

February 23, 2012

Friday, February 24th, 2012

Sorry this is late, folks!

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.7977 % 2,410.2
FixedFloater 4.60 % 3.98 % 36,981 17.35 1 0.0000 % 3,389.5
Floater 2.77 % 3.03 % 58,516 19.59 3 0.7977 % 2,602.4
OpRet 4.88 % 0.34 % 56,850 1.24 6 0.0575 % 2,506.5
SplitShare 5.28 % -0.90 % 84,347 0.80 4 0.1595 % 2,678.6
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.0575 % 2,292.0
Perpetual-Premium 5.38 % 3.26 % 112,237 0.86 27 0.2457 % 2,203.1
Perpetual-Discount 5.09 % 4.97 % 198,477 15.45 4 0.7447 % 2,429.5
FixedReset 5.05 % 2.86 % 210,098 2.33 66 -0.0527 % 2,378.5
Deemed-Retractible 4.96 % 3.91 % 244,143 3.02 46 0.0872 % 2,291.2
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
FTS.PR.E OpRet -1.27 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-01
Maturity Price : 25.75
Evaluated at bid price : 27.17
Bid-YTW : 0.34 %
IAG.PR.A Deemed-Retractible -1.26 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.50
Bid-YTW : 5.51 %
BNS.PR.J Deemed-Retractible 1.04 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-10-29
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.11
Bid-YTW : 2.75 %
BAM.PR.K Floater 1.10 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-23
Maturity Price : 17.45
Evaluated at bid price : 17.45
Bid-YTW : 3.03 %
FTS.PR.C OpRet 1.17 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2012-03-24
Maturity Price : 25.50
Evaluated at bid price : 25.91
Bid-YTW : -14.76 %
GWO.PR.P Deemed-Retractible 1.36 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.35
Bid-YTW : 5.25 %
POW.PR.D Perpetual-Premium 1.58 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-23
Maturity Price : 24.64
Evaluated at bid price : 25.13
Bid-YTW : 5.01 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
PWF.PR.R Perpetual-Premium 901,316 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.22
Bid-YTW : 5.41 %
GWO.PR.P Deemed-Retractible 255,366 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.35
Bid-YTW : 5.25 %
MFC.PR.H FixedReset 169,140 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-03-19
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.11
Bid-YTW : 4.53 %
RY.PR.B Deemed-Retractible 92,908 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-08-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.82
Bid-YTW : 3.72 %
PWF.PR.M FixedReset 76,601 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.52
Bid-YTW : 2.97 %
TRP.PR.B FixedReset 61,977 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-23
Maturity Price : 23.51
Evaluated at bid price : 25.56
Bid-YTW : 2.71 %
There were 38 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
MFC.PR.B Deemed-Retractible Quote: 23.43 – 23.95
Spot Rate : 0.5200
Average : 0.3479

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.43
Bid-YTW : 5.47 %

GWO.PR.G Deemed-Retractible Quote: 25.43 – 25.75
Spot Rate : 0.3200
Average : 0.2029

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-12-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.43
Bid-YTW : 4.68 %

FTS.PR.E OpRet Quote: 27.17 – 27.58
Spot Rate : 0.4100
Average : 0.3046

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-01
Maturity Price : 25.75
Evaluated at bid price : 27.17
Bid-YTW : 0.34 %

TCA.PR.X Perpetual-Premium Quote: 52.05 – 52.50
Spot Rate : 0.4500
Average : 0.3522

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-10-15
Maturity Price : 50.00
Evaluated at bid price : 52.05
Bid-YTW : 3.26 %

GWO.PR.I Deemed-Retractible Quote: 23.31 – 23.66
Spot Rate : 0.3500
Average : 0.2585

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.31
Bid-YTW : 5.51 %

PWF.PR.L Perpetual-Premium Quote: 25.10 – 25.39
Spot Rate : 0.2900
Average : 0.2122

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-02-23
Maturity Price : 24.57
Evaluated at bid price : 25.10
Bid-YTW : 5.10 %

PWF.PR.R Reaches Solid Premium on High Volume

Friday, February 24th, 2012

Power Financial Corporation has announced:

the successful completion and closing of an offering of 10,000,000 5.50% Non-Cumulative First Preferred Shares, Series R (the “Series R Shares”) priced at $25.00 per share to raise gross proceeds of $250 million.

The issue was bought by an underwriting syndicate co-led by BMO Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets and Scotiabank.

The Series R Shares will be listed and posted for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “PWF.PR.R”. Proceeds from the issue will be used to supplement Power Financial Corporation’s financial resources and for general corporate purposes.

PWF.PR.R is a 5.50% Straight Perpetual announced February 13.

PWF.PR.R traded 901,316 shares in a range of 24.95-25 before closing at 25.22-34, 2×100. The issue will be tracked by HIMIPref™ and is assigned to the PerpetualPremium index. Vital statistics are:

PWF.PR.R Perpetual-Premium YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.22
Bid-YTW : 5.41 %

BOC Releases Winter 2011-12 Review

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

The Bank of Canada has released the Bank of Canada Review: Winter 2011-12, a special issue devoted to Household Finances and Financial Stability, with articles:

  • What Explains Trends in Household Debt in Canada? by Allan Crawford and Umar Faruqui
  • Household Borrowing and Spending in Canada by Jeannine Bailliu, Katsiaryna Kartashova and Césaire Meh
  • Medium-Term Fluctuations in Canadian House Prices by Brian Peterson and Yi Zheng
  • Household Insolvency in Canada by Jason Allen and Evren Damar