Surprisingly, a business-hostile government isn’t getting much help from business:
French companies aren’t investing much at home these days.
A no-growth economy had already damped spending when President Francois Hollande’s government late last month unveiled a budget that slaps companies with 10 billion euros ($13.1 billion) of tax increases for next year. Executives are returning the favor by suspending investments.
Perhaps Lapdog Carney could go over and give them some pointers.
Assiduous Reader AA sent me a link to a NYT article titled A Hard Landing for University Endowments:
Today, it’s hard to find a college or university that stuck with the older and far simpler allocation between stocks and bonds. Hedge funds alone currently have what is estimated at over $2 trillion in assets, much of it from large institutions.
…
Even more startling, data compiled by the National Association of College and University Business Officers for the 2011 fiscal year (the most recent available) show that large, medium and small endowments all underperformed a simple mix of 60 percent stocks and 40 percent bonds over one-, three-and five–year periods. The 91 percent of endowments with less than $1 billion in assets underperformed in every time period since records have been maintained. Given the weak results being reported this year, that underperformance is likely to be even more pronounced when the fiscal year 2012 results are included.
I don’t think it’s necessary to resort to fancy arguments like “first-mover advantage” and “changing market” to explain this. I suggest that some smart guys who knew what they were doing had the idea and did very well. Then the salesmen moved in …
DBRS confirmed NA at Pfd-2:
National’s asset quality metrics, with respect to its lending operation, outperformed most of its peers through the recession and continue to do so. National’s capital metrics have declined slightly over the first nine months of 2012 largely as a result of the application of IFRS, increased risk-weighted assets driven by organic loan growth and the acquisition of a 35% interest in Fiera Capital Corporation. However, the Bank’s tangible common equity and Tier 1 ratios still remain within the middle of the Canadian bank peer group and compare favourably relative to international peers, at 9.5% and 12.7%, respectively.
National’s long-term deposits and senior debt rating at AA (low) is composed of an Intrinsic Assessment of A (high) and a Support Assessment of SA2 (reflecting the expectation of systemic and timely external support by the Government of Canada), which results in a one notch increase from the Intrinsic Assessment to the Issuer Rating, Deposits and Senior Debt and Subordinated Debt ratings.
It was another mildly positive day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums up 6bp, FixedResets flat and DeemedRetractibles gaining 5bp. Volatility was minor. Volume was very 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 | 0.0000 % | 2,434.6 |
| FixedFloater | 4.32 % | 3.64 % | 35,207 | 18.11 | 1 | -0.4973 % | 3,728.0 |
| Floater | 3.01 % | 3.03 % | 62,576 | 19.66 | 3 | 0.0000 % | 2,628.8 |
| OpRet | 4.63 % | 2.31 % | 62,866 | 0.63 | 4 | -0.0286 % | 2,564.6 |
| SplitShare | 5.44 % | 4.98 % | 72,753 | 4.52 | 3 | -0.0792 % | 2,822.7 |
| Interest-Bearing | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | -0.0286 % | 2,345.1 |
| Perpetual-Premium | 5.29 % | 1.75 % | 87,299 | 0.37 | 27 | 0.0568 % | 2,303.6 |
| Perpetual-Discount | 5.02 % | 5.01 % | 48,651 | 15.49 | 4 | 0.0822 % | 2,577.4 |
| FixedReset | 4.98 % | 3.00 % | 183,814 | 3.80 | 73 | 0.0016 % | 2,437.8 |
| Deemed-Retractible | 4.94 % | 3.03 % | 119,776 | 0.77 | 47 | 0.0499 % | 2,381.3 |
| Performance Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Change | Notes |
| BAM.PR.R | FixedReset | -1.27 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-10-12 Maturity Price : 23.51 Evaluated at bid price : 25.75 Bid-YTW : 3.70 % |
| 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 : 24.50 Bid-YTW : 4.92 % |
| Volume Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Shares Traded |
Notes |
| GWO.PR.R | Deemed-Retractible | 147,988 | Recent new issue. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.00 Bid-YTW : 4.83 % |
| BMO.PR.Q | FixedReset | 109,224 | TD crossed 100,000 at 25.45. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.46 Bid-YTW : 2.95 % |
| SLF.PR.G | FixedReset | 99,418 | Scotia crossed blocks of 20,000 and 64,300, both at 24.40. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.37 Bid-YTW : 3.59 % |
| PWF.PR.P | FixedReset | 37,634 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-10-12 Maturity Price : 23.34 Evaluated at bid price : 25.01 Bid-YTW : 3.01 % |
| HSB.PR.D | Deemed-Retractible | 33,332 | Desjardins crossed 30,000 at 25.72. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.50 Evaluated at bid price : 25.67 Bid-YTW : 2.61 % |
| TRP.PR.C | FixedReset | 29,503 | National crossed 27,100 at 25.50. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-10-12 Maturity Price : 23.48 Evaluated at bid price : 25.45 Bid-YTW : 2.88 % |
| There were 14 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares. | |||
| Wide Spread Highlights | ||
| Issue | Index | Quote Data and Yield Notes |
| BNS.PR.T | FixedReset | Quote: 26.41 – 26.69 Spot Rate : 0.2800 Average : 0.1910 YTW SCENARIO |
| BAM.PR.B | Floater | Quote: 17.50 – 17.75 Spot Rate : 0.2500 Average : 0.1677 YTW SCENARIO |
| BAM.PR.G | FixedFloater | Quote: 22.01 – 22.44 Spot Rate : 0.4300 Average : 0.3655 YTW SCENARIO |
| MFC.PR.E | FixedReset | Quote: 26.22 – 26.42 Spot Rate : 0.2000 Average : 0.1535 YTW SCENARIO |
| CM.PR.K | FixedReset | Quote: 26.22 – 26.45 Spot Rate : 0.2300 Average : 0.1854 YTW SCENARIO |
| TCA.PR.X | Perpetual-Premium | Quote: 51.31 – 51.70 Spot Rate : 0.3900 Average : 0.3459 YTW SCENARIO |