Remember the good old days of 2008-09? When every Friday night we could make a batch of popcorn and watch the parade of bankrupts? This weekend might have some interesting European news:
European finance officials are meeting in Luxembourg for an unscheduled session that may address proposals for restructuring Greek debt, said two European officials familiar with the situation.
A German official said the discussions would include a German paper on options for confronting Greece’s growing debt load, which has spurred speculation by investors that a restructuring was likely.
Earlier, Spiegel magazine reported that ministers are convening an emergency meeting after Greece threatened to withdraw from the euro region. Greece rejected the report, according to a finance ministry statement. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief spokesman “categorically” denied that any discussions on a Greek exit were under way. He declined to comment when asked whether officials were meeting tonight.
Looks like the Bloc Quebecois can envy Scotland:
First Minister Alex Salmond’s pro- independence party won an unprecedented majority in elections to the Scottish Parliament, handing him a second term and a mandate to push for greater autonomy for Scotland.
British Prime Minister David Cameron vowed to defend the U.K. from potential breakup even as he congratulated Salmond on an “emphatic win” in yesterday’s vote. Salmond’s Scottish National Party crossed the 65-seat threshold for the first overall majority since the 129-member parliament in Edinburgh was established in 1999.
It was a strong day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualDiscounts roaring ahead by 29bp, FixedResets gaining 5bp and DeemedRetractibles picking up 10bp. There were only three entries in the Performance Highlights table – one from each of the main classes, oddly enough – but all were positive. Volume was low.
| HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices Values are provisional and are finalized monthly |
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| 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 | -0.1411 % | 2,437.6 |
| FixedFloater | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | -0.1411 % | 3,666.2 |
| Floater | 2.47 % | 2.26 % | 39,321 | 21.61 | 4 | -0.1411 % | 2,632.0 |
| OpRet | 4.85 % | 3.63 % | 61,560 | 1.18 | 9 | 0.1199 % | 2,420.5 |
| SplitShare | 5.20 % | -1.49 % | 69,539 | 0.61 | 6 | -0.0463 % | 2,499.7 |
| Interest-Bearing | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.1199 % | 2,213.3 |
| Perpetual-Premium | 5.74 % | 5.53 % | 142,596 | 1.03 | 9 | 0.1441 % | 2,060.8 |
| Perpetual-Discount | 5.55 % | 5.59 % | 119,270 | 14.48 | 15 | 0.2888 % | 2,138.7 |
| FixedReset | 5.16 % | 3.35 % | 205,568 | 2.88 | 57 | 0.0548 % | 2,301.1 |
| Deemed-Retractible | 5.21 % | 5.02 % | 308,926 | 8.13 | 53 | 0.0950 % | 2,106.7 |
| Performance Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Change | Notes |
| IAG.PR.A | Deemed-Retractible | 1.07 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 21.67 Bid-YTW : 6.43 % |
| FTS.PR.H | FixedReset | 1.18 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2015-07-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.75 Bid-YTW : 3.66 % |
| CIU.PR.A | Perpetual-Discount | 1.32 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2041-05-06 Maturity Price : 22.45 Evaluated at bid price : 22.61 Bid-YTW : 5.08 % |
| Volume Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Shares Traded |
Notes |
| MFC.PR.D | FixedReset | 60,929 | TD crossed blocks of 40,000 and 10,000, both at 27.50. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-07-19 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 27.45 Bid-YTW : 3.68 % |
| BAM.PR.T | FixedReset | 49,300 | Desjardins crossed 35,400 at 24.92 and 10,000 at 24.90. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2041-05-06 Maturity Price : 23.08 Evaluated at bid price : 24.90 Bid-YTW : 4.66 % |
| RY.PR.A | Deemed-Retractible | 39,184 | RBC crossed 25,000 at 23.90. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 23.90 Bid-YTW : 4.98 % |
| BMO.PR.O | FixedReset | 34,483 | Nesbitt crossed 30,000 at 27.32. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-06-24 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 27.31 Bid-YTW : 3.33 % |
| PWF.PR.O | Perpetual-Premium | 25,610 | CIBC crossed 17,900 at 25.30. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-11-30 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.21 Bid-YTW : 5.72 % |
| BNS.PR.K | Deemed-Retractible | 24,292 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-05-28 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.05 Bid-YTW : 4.79 % |
| There were 25 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares. | |||
| Wide Spread Highlights | ||
| Issue | Index | Quote Data and Yield Notes |
| FTS.PR.C | OpRet | Quote: 26.06 – 26.48 Spot Rate : 0.4200 Average : 0.2477 YTW SCENARIO |
| PWF.PR.L | Perpetual-Discount | Quote: 23.42 – 23.87 Spot Rate : 0.4500 Average : 0.2939 YTW SCENARIO |
| BAM.PR.P | FixedReset | Quote: 27.55 – 27.85 Spot Rate : 0.3000 Average : 0.2007 YTW SCENARIO |
| SLF.PR.F | FixedReset | Quote: 27.10 – 27.45 Spot Rate : 0.3500 Average : 0.2545 YTW SCENARIO |
| NA.PR.M | Deemed-Retractible | Quote: 26.16 – 26.48 Spot Rate : 0.3200 Average : 0.2248 YTW SCENARIO |
| CIU.PR.C | FixedReset | Quote: 24.95 – 25.29 Spot Rate : 0.3400 Average : 0.2620 YTW SCENARIO |