Category: Market Action

BC Hydro couldn’t care less about operating on a cost-recovery basis. That’s not important:

Energy Minister Rich Coleman says he has cut expected BC Hydro rate increases by 50 per cent over three years.

Mr. Coleman says he made the decision based on a government-ordered review of hydro services and because the government wants to keep rates affordable for families.

DBRS put Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland on Review-Negative:

This action reflects DBRS’s assessment that downside risks to growth in the Euro area have intensified as a result of systemic concerns emanating from Greece. Recent political developments have called into question the Greek government’s willingness and capacity to comply with its EU-IMF adjustment programme and sustain its membership in the European Monetary Union. DBRS will assess, over the next three months, the risks stemming from Greece and to what extent uncertainty over the future of Greece, combined with concerns over sovereign debt sustainability and financial sector fragility in the Euro area, may adversely affect Ireland’s efforts to stabilise its public debt.

It was a mixed day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums down 9bp, FixedResets winning 12bp and DeemedRetractibles gaining 4bp. The Performance Highlights table was well populated, entirely with winners. 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	2.0288 %	2,466.7
FixedFloater	4.44 %	3.81 %	29,182	17.71	1	0.0000 %	3,554.6
Floater	2.93 %	2.94 %	61,752	19.83	3	2.0288 %	2,663.4
OpRet	4.81 %	2.92 %	48,954	1.07	5	-0.3315 %	2,498.7
SplitShare	5.27 %	-1.88 %	51,801	0.57	4	-0.1686 %	2,711.4
Interest-Bearing	0.00 %	0.00 %	0	0.00	0	-0.3315 %	2,284.8
Perpetual-Premium	5.46 %	2.02 %	74,560	0.64	25	-0.0924 %	2,225.5
Perpetual-Discount	5.11 %	5.24 %	87,909	15.00	8	0.5517 %	2,429.8
FixedReset	5.06 %	3.13 %	189,087	2.16	68	0.1175 %	2,392.7
Deemed-Retractible	4.96 %	3.64 %	174,398	1.38	45	0.0436 %	2,322.3

Performance Highlights
Issue	Index	Change	Notes
BAM.PF.A	FixedReset	1.08 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-22 Maturity Price : 23.19 Evaluated at bid price : 25.30 Bid-YTW : 4.27 %
TD.PR.P	Deemed-Retractible	1.26 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-11-01 Maturity Price : 26.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.54 Bid-YTW : 1.05 %
BAM.PR.M	Perpetual-Discount	1.37 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-22 Maturity Price : 22.51 Evaluated at bid price : 22.90 Bid-YTW : 5.24 %
MFC.PR.D	FixedReset	1.73 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-06-19 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.50 Bid-YTW : 3.37 %
BAM.PR.N	Perpetual-Discount	1.78 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-22 Maturity Price : 22.53 Evaluated at bid price : 22.90 Bid-YTW : 5.25 %
BAM.PR.K	Floater	5.34 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-22 Maturity Price : 18.15 Evaluated at bid price : 18.15 Bid-YTW : 2.91 %

Volume Highlights
Issue	Index	Shares Traded	Notes
PWF.PR.I	Perpetual-Premium	103,259	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-06-21 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.50 Bid-YTW : -13.29 %
GWO.PR.G	Deemed-Retractible	87,700	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.92 Bid-YTW : 5.37 %
BNS.PR.Q	FixedReset	75,770	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.66 Bid-YTW : 3.13 %
ENB.PR.F	FixedReset	75,085	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-06-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.41 Bid-YTW : 3.69 %
RY.PR.Y	FixedReset	70,760	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-11-24 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.81 Bid-YTW : 3.09 %
MFC.PR.D	FixedReset	66,995	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-06-19 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.50 Bid-YTW : 3.37 %
There were 24 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.

Wide Spread Highlights
Issue	Index	Quote Data and Yield Notes
TCA.PR.Y	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 52.15 – 52.65 Spot Rate : 0.5000 Average : 0.3696 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-03-05 Maturity Price : 50.00 Evaluated at bid price : 52.15 Bid-YTW : 3.29 %
FTS.PR.E	OpRet	Quote: 26.20 – 26.65 Spot Rate : 0.4500 Average : 0.3579 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-06-01 Maturity Price : 25.75 Evaluated at bid price : 26.20 Bid-YTW : 2.92 %
BNS.PR.T	FixedReset	Quote: 26.59 – 26.85 Spot Rate : 0.2600 Average : 0.1729 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-04-25 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.59 Bid-YTW : 3.06 %
TRP.PR.C	FixedReset	Quote: 25.81 – 26.09 Spot Rate : 0.2800 Average : 0.1993 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-22 Maturity Price : 23.53 Evaluated at bid price : 25.81 Bid-YTW : 2.95 %
TCA.PR.X	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 52.06 – 52.49 Spot Rate : 0.4300 Average : 0.3497 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-10-15 Maturity Price : 50.00 Evaluated at bid price : 52.06 Bid-YTW : 2.85 %
PWF.PR.R	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 25.77 – 26.00 Spot Rate : 0.2300 Average : 0.1543 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2021-04-30 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.77 Bid-YTW : 5.15 %

Never mind Greece and Spain, here’s some commentary about an old friend:

Ireland may be forced into a second bailout by mounting loan losses in its banking system, according to Deutsche Bank AG.

Ireland’s bailed-out banks may need capital to cover as much as 4 billion euros ($5.1 billion) more bad-loan provisions than assumed in stress tests last year, Deutsche Bank analysts David Lock and Jason Napier said in a report published today.
…
“Although resilient during 2009 and 2010, mortgage arrears have risen sharply over the past year, house prices are continuing to fall, market liquidity is limited, and over half of customers are now in negative equity,” the analysts said. “We fear the size of negative equity balances for some mortgage holders may greatly reduce their incentive to cooperate, pushing them towards default.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world:

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group said volatile conditions in global markets have caused the wholesale funding market for Australian banks to freeze again, a worrying echo of the global financial crisis.
…
“Right now, markets are closed again, and this is what happens in this sort of situation,” ANZ Chief Executive Mike Smith said after a speech to a business group.
…
Australian banks raise about $100 billion annually from wholesale funding markets to bridge a gap between total loans and deposits.

Here’s a story you don’t see too often:

Investors Group Inc., which sells mutual funds through its own financial adviser network, plans to chop fees on many of its offerings in a bid to woo fee-conscious clients.

The move comes after the company saw net fund sales plunge to $175-million in the first quarter during the key registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) from $504-million a year earlier.

Reductions in management fees will range from .05-to 0.40-per-cent annually on the asset value of select funds, the Winnipeg-based firm said in a statement on Friday.

There’s some alarmist talk from S&P:

In a report last week, Standard & Poor’s said the world faces a mountain of roughly $46-trillion (U.S.) in corporate debt needs between now and the end of 2016. In addition to a $30-trillion “wall” of corporate debt that will come due and require refinancing, S&P estimated that corporations worldwide will need between $13-trillion and $16-trillion of new debt to meet their capital spending and working-capital needs – essentially, to finance growth.
…
“This demand for funds will potentially compound the credit rationing that may occur as banks seek to restructure their balance sheets, and bond and equity investors reassess their risk-return thresholds. These factors, amid the current euro zone crisis, a soft U.S. economic recovery following the Great Recession, and the prospect of slowing Chinese growth, raise the downside risk of a perfect storm for credit markets, in our view,” S&P wrote.

The Canadian preferred share market got thumped today, with PerpetualPremiums off 10bp, FixedResets losing 45bp and DeemedRetractibles down 37bp. There is quite a lengthy list of Performance Highlights, all of them losers – the only pattern I see at first glance is that banks are relatively unscathed. 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	-3.2471 %	2,417.6
FixedFloater	4.44 %	3.80 %	29,122	17.72	1	-1.1537 %	3,554.6
Floater	2.99 %	3.02 %	59,452	19.63	3	-3.2471 %	2,610.4
OpRet	4.79 %	2.32 %	50,980	1.08	5	-0.2308 %	2,507.0
SplitShare	5.26 %	-4.17 %	53,930	0.58	4	-0.0595 %	2,716.0
Interest-Bearing	0.00 %	0.00 %	0	0.00	0	-0.2308 %	2,292.4
Perpetual-Premium	5.45 %	2.82 %	75,243	0.65	25	-0.0962 %	2,227.6
Perpetual-Discount	5.13 %	5.24 %	88,318	15.03	8	-0.8924 %	2,416.5
FixedReset	5.07 %	3.16 %	175,865	2.34	68	-0.4533 %	2,389.8
Deemed-Retractible	4.97 %	3.65 %	176,465	1.54	45	-0.3713 %	2,321.3

Performance Highlights
Issue	Index	Change	Notes
BAM.PR.K	Floater	-6.05 %	Not a real loss … the Last Quote was 17.23-18.60, but the issue traded 21,495 shares in a range of 18.00-20. Virtually all the volume was at 18.00. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-18 Maturity Price : 17.23 Evaluated at bid price : 17.23 Bid-YTW : 3.07 %
BAM.PR.N	Perpetual-Discount	-4.13 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-18 Maturity Price : 22.16 Evaluated at bid price : 22.50 Bid-YTW : 5.34 %
BAM.PR.M	Perpetual-Discount	-2.76 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-18 Maturity Price : 22.27 Evaluated at bid price : 22.59 Bid-YTW : 5.32 %
BAM.PR.C	Floater	-2.72 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-18 Maturity Price : 17.51 Evaluated at bid price : 17.51 Bid-YTW : 3.02 %
MFC.PR.D	FixedReset	-2.65 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-06-19 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.05 Bid-YTW : 4.23 %
MFC.PR.B	Deemed-Retractible	-2.19 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 23.26 Bid-YTW : 5.57 %
TCA.PR.X	Perpetual-Premium	-1.59 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-10-15 Maturity Price : 50.00 Evaluated at bid price : 52.06 Bid-YTW : 2.83 %
SLF.PR.B	Deemed-Retractible	-1.47 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.11 Bid-YTW : 5.39 %
TRP.PR.C	FixedReset	-1.41 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-18 Maturity Price : 23.54 Evaluated at bid price : 25.85 Bid-YTW : 2.99 %
SLF.PR.A	Deemed-Retractible	-1.36 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.00 Bid-YTW : 5.40 %
BAM.PF.A	FixedReset	-1.26 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-18 Maturity Price : 23.11 Evaluated at bid price : 25.03 Bid-YTW : 4.37 %
BMO.PR.Q	FixedReset	-1.21 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.25 Bid-YTW : 3.12 %
MFC.PR.F	FixedReset	-1.18 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.30 Bid-YTW : 3.81 %
BAM.PR.G	FixedFloater	-1.15 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-18 Maturity Price : 22.25 Evaluated at bid price : 21.42 Bid-YTW : 3.80 %
TD.PR.P	Deemed-Retractible	-1.13 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-11-01 Maturity Price : 26.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.21 Bid-YTW : 3.81 %
BNS.PR.L	Deemed-Retractible	-1.11 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2015-04-28 Maturity Price : 25.25 Evaluated at bid price : 25.91 Bid-YTW : 3.62 %

Volume Highlights
Issue	Index	Shares Traded	Notes
RY.PR.L	FixedReset	79,450	National crossed 75,000 at 26.10. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-02-24 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.08 Bid-YTW : 3.03 %
CU.PR.A	Perpetual-Premium	52,550	TD crossed 47,400 at 25.45. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-06-17 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.30 Bid-YTW : -11.11 %
MFC.PR.H	FixedReset	48,780	Scotia sold 23,100 to anonymous at 25.25, and another 13,500 to RBC at the same price. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.20 Bid-YTW : 4.68 %
TRP.PR.C	FixedReset	46,192	Nesbitt crossed 40,000 at 26.05. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-18 Maturity Price : 23.54 Evaluated at bid price : 25.85 Bid-YTW : 2.99 %
TD.PR.O	Deemed-Retractible	41,459	Nesbitt crossed 30,000 at 26.10. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-06-17 Maturity Price : 25.75 Evaluated at bid price : 25.87 Bid-YTW : 1.86 %
SLF.PR.A	Deemed-Retractible	36,400	Nesbitt crossed 29,400 at 24.25. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.00 Bid-YTW : 5.40 %
There were 26 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.

Wide Spread Highlights
Issue	Index	Quote Data and Yield Notes
BAM.PR.K	Floater	Quote: 17.23 – 18.60 Spot Rate : 1.3700 Average : 0.9391 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-18 Maturity Price : 17.23 Evaluated at bid price : 17.23 Bid-YTW : 3.07 %
MFC.PR.D	FixedReset	Quote: 26.05 – 26.74 Spot Rate : 0.6900 Average : 0.4086 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-06-19 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.05 Bid-YTW : 4.23 %
BAM.PR.C	Floater	Quote: 17.51 – 18.35 Spot Rate : 0.8400 Average : 0.5723 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-18 Maturity Price : 17.51 Evaluated at bid price : 17.51 Bid-YTW : 3.02 %
NA.PR.O	FixedReset	Quote: 26.68 – 27.25 Spot Rate : 0.5700 Average : 0.3605 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-02-15 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.68 Bid-YTW : 2.68 %
TCA.PR.X	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 52.06 – 52.50 Spot Rate : 0.4400 Average : 0.2617 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-10-15 Maturity Price : 50.00 Evaluated at bid price : 52.06 Bid-YTW : 2.83 %
MFC.PR.B	Deemed-Retractible	Quote: 23.26 – 23.69 Spot Rate : 0.4300 Average : 0.2522 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 23.26 Bid-YTW : 5.57 %

Fitch downgraded Greece:

Greece’s credit rating was downgraded one level by Fitch Ratings on “heightened risk” that the country will not be able to sustain its membership of the euro area after inconclusive elections left the country without a stable government.

Greece was cut to CCC from B- by Fitch, according to an e- mailed statement today in London. The country’s ceiling was revised to B-, Fitch said in the statement.

“The strong showing of ‘anti-austerity’ parties in the May 6 parliamentary elections and subsequent failure to form a government underscores the lack of public and political support for” the country’s bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, Fitch said in the statement.

Moody’s downgraded a swathe of Spanish banks:

Banco Santander (SAN) SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Spain’s biggest lenders, were cut three levels by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited a recession and mounting loan losses in downgrading 16 of the nation’s banks.

Nine firms were cut three notches and seven were kept on review for further reductions, Moody’s said yesterday in a statement. Santander’s U.K.-based subsidiary also was cut.

The moves followed Moody’s May 14 downgrade of 26 Italian banks and its Feb. 13 cut of Spain’s sovereign debt. The main drivers for the Spanish bank downgrades were a surge in soured loans, the recession, restricted funding access and the reduced ability of the government to support lenders as its own creditworthiness diminishes, Moody’s said.

Nexen, proud issuer of NXY.PR.A was confirmed at Pfd-3 by DBRS:

DBRS has today confirmed the ratings of Nexen Inc.’s (Nexen or the Company) Long-Term Unsecured Debt at BBB, Subordinated Unsecured Notes at BBB (low) and Preferred Shares at Pfd-3, all with Stable trends. The rating confirmations reflect the Company’s adequate credit metrics and potential future reserve and production growth profile.

Nexen’s financial profile continued to improve in 2011 and Q1 2012, mainly attributable to top-of-cycle oil prices and execution on its aggressive debt reduction strategy. Nexen has used proceeds of asset sales to reduce its debt-to-capital ratio to 33% at March 31, 2012, down from 49% at year-end 2009. Nexen’s debt-to-cash flow ratios have decreased substantially, from 2.64 times (x) in 2010 to 1.93x in the 12 months ending March 31, 2012. Continued improvement will depend largely on Nexen’s ability to successfully ramp-up production at Long Lake, and to ensure reliability of production at Buzzard. Going forward, DBRS expects Nexen to continue to manage its debt levels in a manner consistent with its BBB rating category.

It was an uneventful day for the Canadian preferred share market,with PerpetualPremiums down 1bp, FixedResets up 4bp and DeemedRetractibles gaining 2bp. Lots of volatility, heavily skewed to the downside. 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	0.9444 %	2,498.8
FixedFloater	4.38 %	3.75 %	30,310	17.81	1	0.0924 %	3,596.1
Floater	2.89 %	2.91 %	55,079	19.92	3	0.9444 %	2,698.0
OpRet	4.78 %	2.75 %	52,878	1.08	5	0.0154 %	2,512.8
SplitShare	5.25 %	-5.95 %	56,146	0.58	4	0.4516 %	2,717.6
Interest-Bearing	0.00 %	0.00 %	0	0.00	0	0.0154 %	2,297.7
Perpetual-Premium	5.45 %	1.64 %	78,355	0.65	25	-0.0133 %	2,229.7
Perpetual-Discount	5.09 %	5.07 %	87,897	15.22	8	-0.0876 %	2,438.3
FixedReset	5.05 %	2.97 %	175,097	2.13	68	0.0396 %	2,400.7
Deemed-Retractible	4.95 %	3.49 %	177,181	0.99	45	0.0183 %	2,330.0

Performance Highlights
Issue	Index	Change	Notes
HSE.PR.A	FixedReset	-1.66 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-17 Maturity Price : 23.43 Evaluated at bid price : 25.53 Bid-YTW : 3.26 %
PWF.PR.O	Perpetual-Premium	-1.33 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-10-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.06 Bid-YTW : 5.11 %
GWO.PR.I	Deemed-Retractible	-1.17 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 23.64 Bid-YTW : 5.33 %
FTS.PR.F	Perpetual-Premium	-1.12 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-17 Maturity Price : 24.39 Evaluated at bid price : 24.72 Bid-YTW : 4.95 %
SLF.PR.H	FixedReset	-1.09 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.60 Bid-YTW : 4.06 %
MFC.PR.C	Deemed-Retractible	-1.07 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 23.17 Bid-YTW : 5.46 %
TCA.PR.X	Perpetual-Premium	1.15 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-10-15 Maturity Price : 50.00 Evaluated at bid price : 52.90 Bid-YTW : 1.64 %
TRP.PR.C	FixedReset	1.24 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-17 Maturity Price : 23.64 Evaluated at bid price : 26.22 Bid-YTW : 2.93 %
BNA.PR.E	SplitShare	1.34 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2017-12-10 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.88 Bid-YTW : 4.92 %
BAM.PR.K	Floater	1.89 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-17 Maturity Price : 18.34 Evaluated at bid price : 18.34 Bid-YTW : 2.88 %

Volume Highlights
Issue	Index	Shares Traded	Notes
TD.PR.I	FixedReset	111,780	National crossed 100,000 at 26.89. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-07-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.89 Bid-YTW : 2.85 %
ENB.PR.H	FixedReset	73,797	Nesbitt crossed 53,800 at 25.53. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-17 Maturity Price : 23.25 Evaluated at bid price : 25.50 Bid-YTW : 3.54 %
RY.PR.Y	FixedReset	55,170	RBC crossed 23,100 at 26.86. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-11-24 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.81 Bid-YTW : 3.07 %
ENB.PR.D	FixedReset	46,991	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-03-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.41 Bid-YTW : 3.67 %
HSB.PR.C	Deemed-Retractible	41,878	Scotia crossed 16,600 at 25.75; RBC crossed 16,300 at the same price. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-06-30 Maturity Price : 25.50 Evaluated at bid price : 25.80 Bid-YTW : 0.46 %
TD.PR.O	Deemed-Retractible	39,365	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-06-16 Maturity Price : 25.75 Evaluated at bid price : 26.13 Bid-YTW : -10.21 %
There were 31 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.

Wide Spread Highlights
Issue	Index	Quote Data and Yield Notes
BAM.PR.K	Floater	Quote: 18.34 – 19.00 Spot Rate : 0.6600 Average : 0.4667 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-17 Maturity Price : 18.34 Evaluated at bid price : 18.34 Bid-YTW : 2.88 %
TCA.PR.Y	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 52.50 – 52.99 Spot Rate : 0.4900 Average : 0.3218 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-03-05 Maturity Price : 50.00 Evaluated at bid price : 52.50 Bid-YTW : 2.87 %
FTS.PR.F	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 24.72 – 25.20 Spot Rate : 0.4800 Average : 0.3391 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-17 Maturity Price : 24.39 Evaluated at bid price : 24.72 Bid-YTW : 4.95 %
FTS.PR.E	OpRet	Quote: 26.65 – 27.12 Spot Rate : 0.4700 Average : 0.3302 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-06-01 Maturity Price : 25.75 Evaluated at bid price : 26.65 Bid-YTW : 1.20 %
IGM.PR.B	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 25.73 – 26.30 Spot Rate : 0.5700 Average : 0.4311 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.73 Bid-YTW : 5.45 %
RY.PR.H	Deemed-Retractible	Quote: 26.61 – 27.03 Spot Rate : 0.4200 Average : 0.2811 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-05-24 Maturity Price : 26.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.61 Bid-YTW : 2.96 %

There are fears the Greek bank run is accellerating:

Greek President Karolos Papoulias was told by the nation’s central bank chief that financial institutions are worried about their survival as Greeks pull out euros amid a deepening political crisis.

Central bank head George Provopoulos told Papoulias that Greeks have withdrawn as much as 700 million euros ($891 million) and the situation could worsen, according to the transcript of the president’s meeting with party leaders on May 14 that was published yesterday.
…
Banks in downtown in Athens were open as normal today with no signs of unusual activity. Deposits by businesses and households held in Greek banks stood at 165.4 billion euros in March, according to the last available data from the Bank of Greece. (TELL) In 2011, deposits declined 35.4 billion euros, or 17 percent.

The report of the Office of the Independent Police Review Director regarding police conduct during the G-20 has been released. In a nutshell (nut’s hell?) the police acted like maniacs. Unfortunately, Blair and his thugs still have jobs.

It was a mixed day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums gaining 4bp, FixedResets losing 6bp and DeemedRetractibles down 2bp. Volatility was minor. Volume was well above 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	-0.7535 %	2,475.4
FixedFloater	4.39 %	3.75 %	30,604	17.81	1	0.6977 %	3,592.7
Floater	2.92 %	2.94 %	54,323	19.85	3	-0.7535 %	2,672.8
OpRet	4.78 %	2.49 %	54,983	1.09	5	0.1001 %	2,512.4
SplitShare	5.22 %	-2.62 %	58,016	0.58	4	-0.4758 %	2,705.4
Interest-Bearing	0.00 %	0.00 %	0	0.00	0	0.1001 %	2,297.3
Perpetual-Premium	5.45 %	2.47 %	72,527	0.13	25	0.0438 %	2,230.0
Perpetual-Discount	5.08 %	5.04 %	86,336	15.25	8	-0.2775 %	2,440.4
FixedReset	5.05 %	2.98 %	174,804	2.08	68	-0.0605 %	2,399.8
Deemed-Retractible	4.95 %	3.26 %	177,020	1.00	45	-0.0235 %	2,329.5

Performance Highlights
Issue	Index	Change	Notes
FBS.PR.C	SplitShare	-1.74 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-12-15 Maturity Price : 10.00 Evaluated at bid price : 10.72 Bid-YTW : -5.93 %
BAM.PR.K	Floater	-1.42 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-16 Maturity Price : 18.00 Evaluated at bid price : 18.00 Bid-YTW : 2.94 %
MFC.PR.G	FixedReset	-1.19 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2016-12-19 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.00 Bid-YTW : 4.32 %

Volume Highlights
Issue	Index	Shares Traded	Notes
RY.PR.X	FixedReset	102,000	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-08-24 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.81 Bid-YTW : 2.90 %
ENB.PR.D	FixedReset	98,349	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-03-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.38 Bid-YTW : 3.69 %
TD.PR.K	FixedReset	95,400	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-07-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.90 Bid-YTW : 2.83 %
BAM.PR.B	Floater	89,778	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-16 Maturity Price : 18.00 Evaluated at bid price : 18.00 Bid-YTW : 2.94 %
TRP.PR.A	FixedReset	83,997	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.04 Bid-YTW : 3.18 %
BMO.PR.J	Deemed-Retractible	65,040	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-06-15 Maturity Price : 26.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.20 Bid-YTW : -6.21 %
There were 41 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.

Wide Spread Highlights
Issue	Index	Quote Data and Yield Notes
BAM.PR.B	Floater	Quote: 18.00 – 18.35 Spot Rate : 0.3500 Average : 0.2546 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-16 Maturity Price : 18.00 Evaluated at bid price : 18.00 Bid-YTW : 2.94 %
BAM.PR.K	Floater	Quote: 18.00 – 18.35 Spot Rate : 0.3500 Average : 0.2548 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-16 Maturity Price : 18.00 Evaluated at bid price : 18.00 Bid-YTW : 2.94 %
BAM.PR.Z	FixedReset	Quote: 25.90 – 26.18 Spot Rate : 0.2800 Average : 0.1923 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2017-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.90 Bid-YTW : 4.22 %
BNA.PR.D	SplitShare	Quote: 26.55 – 26.75 Spot Rate : 0.2000 Average : 0.1366 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-06-15 Maturity Price : 26.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.55 Bid-YTW : -2.62 %
CU.PR.A	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 25.52 – 25.70 Spot Rate : 0.1800 Average : 0.1166 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-06-15 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.52 Bid-YTW : -21.16 %
ELF.PR.F	Perpetual-Discount	Quote: 24.66 – 24.96 Spot Rate : 0.3000 Average : 0.2438 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-16 Maturity Price : 24.35 Evaluated at bid price : 24.66 Bid-YTW : 5.42 %

There will be new elections in Greece:

Greece will hold new elections after President Karolos Papoulias failed to broker a governing coalition following an inconclusive May 6 vote, raising concern it may exit the euro. The currency and euro-area stocks fell.

“The country is once again headed to elections in a few days under adverse conditions,” Evangelos Venizelos, the leader of the socialist Pasok party said. “The Greek people told us they didn’t want elections but a coalition government, that they want Greece in the euro.”
…
Greece’s political impasse means the new vote will have to be held as early as next month, with polls showing that could boost the anti-bailout Syriza party to the top spot. The country may run out of money by early July.

If the Greeks are playing good cop bad cop, it’s working:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said they would consider measures to spur economic growth in Greece as long as voters there committed to the austerity demanded to stay in the euro.

Requests for measures to bolster growth will be “considered” and the European Union may also “approach Greece with proposals,” Merkel said late yesterday at a joint press conference with Hollande during his first official visit to Berlin. “Greece can stay in the euro area,” and “Greek citizens will be voting on exactly that.”

Smoke and mirrors? I wouldn’t be surprised.

All the fuss about Greece has me thinking … much the same sort of thing applies to Canadian provinces. They, too, can borrow cheaply with a generally narrow spread off Canadas; they, too, do not have the ability to devalue their currency. What would happen if Quebec – just to pick a provincial name at random – were to start to drown under its own debt? What then?

It was a negative day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums down 5bp and both FixedResets and DeemedRetractibles losing 9bp. Volatility was muted. It was Enbridge Day as far as blocks were concerned, but otherwise 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	0.5173 %	2,494.2
FixedFloater	4.42 %	3.79 %	29,542	17.76	1	0.7026 %	3,567.8
Floater	2.89 %	2.91 %	53,372	19.91	3	0.5173 %	2,693.1
OpRet	4.78 %	2.71 %	55,865	1.09	5	0.0283 %	2,509.9
SplitShare	5.20 %	-2.84 %	60,268	0.59	4	0.8309 %	2,718.3
Interest-Bearing	0.00 %	0.00 %	0	0.00	0	0.0283 %	2,295.0
Perpetual-Premium	5.45 %	2.54 %	71,934	0.13	25	-0.0522 %	2,229.1
Perpetual-Discount	5.07 %	5.05 %	86,083	15.31	8	-0.2665 %	2,447.2
FixedReset	5.05 %	3.01 %	175,619	2.13	68	-0.0889 %	2,401.2
Deemed-Retractible	4.95 %	3.56 %	177,064	2.75	45	-0.0912 %	2,330.1

Performance Highlights
Issue	Index	Change	Notes
BAM.PR.N	Perpetual-Discount	-1.13 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-15 Maturity Price : 23.23 Evaluated at bid price : 23.70 Bid-YTW : 5.05 %
IAG.PR.C	FixedReset	1.10 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.55 Bid-YTW : 2.77 %
BAM.PR.K	Floater	1.22 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-15 Maturity Price : 18.26 Evaluated at bid price : 18.26 Bid-YTW : 2.90 %
FBS.PR.C	SplitShare	2.06 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-12-15 Maturity Price : 10.00 Evaluated at bid price : 10.91 Bid-YTW : -8.83 %

Volume Highlights
Issue	Index	Shares Traded	Notes
ENB.PR.H	FixedReset	89,430	RBC crossed 41,000 at 25.40. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-15 Maturity Price : 23.20 Evaluated at bid price : 25.33 Bid-YTW : 3.57 %
ENB.PR.F	FixedReset	62,106	RBC crossed 24,100 at 25.40. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-06-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.35 Bid-YTW : 3.72 %
ENB.PR.B	FixedReset	50,550	TD crossed two blocks of 10,000 each, both at 25.40. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2017-06-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.35 Bid-YTW : 3.67 %
ENB.PR.D	FixedReset	37,647	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-15 Maturity Price : 23.23 Evaluated at bid price : 25.35 Bid-YTW : 3.71 %
BNS.PR.Z	FixedReset	36,083	Desjardins crossed 10,000 at 25.00. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.05 Bid-YTW : 3.21 %
PWF.PR.P	FixedReset	35,700	RBC crossed 34,200 at 25.65. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-15 Maturity Price : 23.44 Evaluated at bid price : 25.50 Bid-YTW : 3.13 %
There were 26 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: 25.40 – 25.80 Spot Rate : 0.4000 Average : 0.2484 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-07-01 Maturity Price : 25.25 Evaluated at bid price : 25.40 Bid-YTW : -1.16 %
IGM.PR.B	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 25.56 – 26.00 Spot Rate : 0.4400 Average : 0.3323 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.56 Bid-YTW : 5.57 %
MFC.PR.C	Deemed-Retractible	Quote: 23.52 – 23.75 Spot Rate : 0.2300 Average : 0.1403 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 23.52 Bid-YTW : 5.26 %
POW.PR.C	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 25.46 – 25.72 Spot Rate : 0.2600 Average : 0.1832 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-06-14 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.46 Bid-YTW : -10.37 %
BNS.PR.T	FixedReset	Quote: 26.70 – 26.96 Spot Rate : 0.2600 Average : 0.1888 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-04-25 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.70 Bid-YTW : 2.80 %
PWF.PR.P	FixedReset	Quote: 25.50 – 25.75 Spot Rate : 0.2500 Average : 0.1888 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-15 Maturity Price : 23.44 Evaluated at bid price : 25.50 Bid-YTW : 3.13 %

Having destroyed Europe, the politicians are working on banking:

Banks may face tougher bonus curbs including a ban on awards stemming from carry-trade profits on cheap European Central Bank loans under proposed changes to a law on Basel capital rules endorsed by European Union lawmakers.

Lenders should also be forbidden from giving staff bonus awards that exceed fixed salaries, in the proposals approved by members of the European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee in Brussels today. The amendments will be part of the EU assembly’s negotiation position in talks with governments on the legislation.

It was a mixed day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums losing 11bp, FixedResets off 8bp and DeemedRetractibles gaining 2bp. Volatility was good, with no clear trend. 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	0.3336 %	2,481.3
FixedFloater	4.45 %	3.82 %	28,991	17.70	1	-0.8821 %	3,543.0
Floater	2.91 %	2.93 %	53,651	19.87	3	0.3336 %	2,679.2
OpRet	4.76 %	2.79 %	53,815	1.09	5	0.1305 %	2,509.2
SplitShare	5.24 %	3.87 %	62,537	0.59	4	-0.1235 %	2,695.9
Interest-Bearing	0.00 %	0.00 %	0	0.00	0	0.1305 %	2,294.4
Perpetual-Premium	5.45 %	2.59 %	72,438	0.14	25	-0.1062 %	2,230.2
Perpetual-Discount	5.06 %	5.01 %	158,276	15.38	8	-0.1126 %	2,453.7
FixedReset	5.04 %	2.94 %	175,554	2.09	68	-0.0778 %	2,403.4
Deemed-Retractible	4.94 %	3.41 %	177,768	1.40	45	0.0235 %	2,332.2

Performance Highlights
Issue	Index	Change	Notes
BAM.PR.M	Perpetual-Discount	-1.58 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-14 Maturity Price : 23.36 Evaluated at bid price : 23.63 Bid-YTW : 5.08 %
IGM.PR.B	Perpetual-Premium	-1.09 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.52 Bid-YTW : 5.60 %
SLF.PR.I	FixedReset	-1.05 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2016-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.43 Bid-YTW : 3.98 %
BAM.PR.B	Floater	1.01 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-14 Maturity Price : 18.09 Evaluated at bid price : 18.09 Bid-YTW : 2.92 %
ELF.PR.F	Perpetual-Discount	1.02 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-14 Maturity Price : 24.55 Evaluated at bid price : 24.85 Bid-YTW : 5.38 %
IAG.PR.E	Deemed-Retractible	1.15 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.30 Bid-YTW : 5.44 %

Volume Highlights
Issue	Index	Shares Traded	Notes
FTS.PR.C	OpRet	115,865	National crossed 107,900 at 25.60. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-07-01 Maturity Price : 25.25 Evaluated at bid price : 25.61 Bid-YTW : 2.79 %
RY.PR.B	Deemed-Retractible	56,732	Desjardins crossed 40,200 at 26.00. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-08-24 Maturity Price : 25.75 Evaluated at bid price : 25.92 Bid-YTW : 1.74 %
BMO.PR.J	Deemed-Retractible	56,604	Desjardins crossed 45,200 at 26.20. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-06-13 Maturity Price : 26.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.06 Bid-YTW : -0.07 %
TD.PR.G	FixedReset	50,064	Nesbitt crossed 40,000 at 26.80. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-04-30 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.76 Bid-YTW : 2.68 %
BMO.PR.Q	FixedReset	39,469	Nesbitt sold 19,000 to anonymous at 25.60. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.68 Bid-YTW : 2.91 %
ENB.PR.F	FixedReset	36,633	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-06-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.35 Bid-YTW : 3.72 %
There were 14 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.

Wide Spread Highlights
Issue	Index	Quote Data and Yield Notes
FBS.PR.C	SplitShare	Quote: 10.69 – 11.88 Spot Rate : 1.1900 Average : 0.7170 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-12-15 Maturity Price : 10.00 Evaluated at bid price : 10.69 Bid-YTW : -5.40 %
PWF.PR.O	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 26.20 – 26.52 Spot Rate : 0.3200 Average : 0.2190 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-10-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.20 Bid-YTW : 5.00 %
MFC.PR.H	FixedReset	Quote: 25.60 – 25.81 Spot Rate : 0.2100 Average : 0.1324 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2017-03-19 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.60 Bid-YTW : 4.31 %
BAM.PR.M	Perpetual-Discount	Quote: 23.63 – 23.97 Spot Rate : 0.3400 Average : 0.2708 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-14 Maturity Price : 23.36 Evaluated at bid price : 23.63 Bid-YTW : 5.08 %
IGM.PR.B	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 25.52 – 25.80 Spot Rate : 0.2800 Average : 0.2142 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.52 Bid-YTW : 5.60 %
BMO.PR.H	Deemed-Retractible	Quote: 25.69 – 25.85 Spot Rate : 0.1600 Average : 0.1039 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-02-25 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.69 Bid-YTW : 1.53 %

It looks like there are lots of jobs in Canada!

Canadian employment rose almost six times faster than economists forecast in April, led by private- sector and full-time positions, creating the largest two-month increase in more than 30 years and leading investors to raise bets on higher interest rates.

Employment rose by 58,200 following a March jump of 82,300 that was the biggest since September 2008, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. The labor force grew by 72,500, lifting the jobless rate to 7.3 percent from 7.2 percent. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a 10,000 gain in jobs and 7.3 percent unemployment, according to the median forecasts.
…
The construction industry posted the largest increase with 24,600 new jobs. Manufacturing added 23,800 positions and education rose by 16,800.

In an opinion piece published by the Financial Times (not in a Canadian paper, or on the bank’s website, where any two-bit Canadian scumbag could access it conveniently) Lapdog Carney says his boss makes wonderful decisions:

This provides a goal – an inflation target – that is both immutable and credible, while allowing for changes in the time horizon over which it is achieved. In short, flexible inflation targeting allows central banks to deliver what is expected while dealing with the unexpected.

An inflation target makes it easier, not harder, to take aggressive and pre-emptive policy action. The clarity and credibility of the Bank of Canada’s flexible framework guided our rapid easing during the crisis. By providing forward policy guidance conditional on the outlook for inflation, we were able to reinforce the stimulative effect of our policy and to normalise policy smoothly when conditions improved.

Central banks at the centre of the crisis have responded even more radically. Inflation targeting is allowing the Bank of England to look through short-term deviations in inflation. The adoption by the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan of more explicit inflation objectives improves the effectiveness of their unconventional policies, and will be essential to manage their exit from those policies.
…
Flexible inflation targeting is that framework, a policy for all seasons.

Kevin Carmichael of the Globe comments:

Yet when the time came to renew the Bank of Canada’s mandate last fall, the Harper government opted against trying something new in the immediate aftermath of a recession. Mr. Carney’s comments in the Financial Times give reason to doubt that price-level targeting ever will be tried. Canada’s economic leaders appear to believe they have found the monetary policy equivalent of nirvana.

It’s too bad. Price Level Targetting would reduce (somewhat!) the risk of long-term fixed-income investing and assist (somewhat!) in retirement planning.

Greek politics continues to fascinate:

Alexis Tsipras, the leader of Greece’s biggest anti-bailout party Syriza, turned down an appeal by political leaders to join a unity government that would avert a new election amid mounting concern of a euro exit.

“I want to underline that the refusal of this proposal isn’t coming from Syriza, but from the Greek people themselves,” Tsipras said in Athens today, in comments televised live on state-run NET TV. “The people have already rejected the bailout so no government has the right to implement it.”

Tsipras’s refusal to participate in a government that would group two pro-bailout parties with his own and the smaller Democratic Left party dims hopes of avoiding another round at the ballot-box, which polls show may catapault Syriza into first place. The onus is now on President Karolos Papoulias to try and broker a government of national unity.
…
The unity government proposal by Democratic Left leader Fotis Kouvelis had received backing from Venizelos and New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras, underpinned by the two main principles of keeping the country in the euro region and renegotiating bailout conditions to boost growth.
…
Kouvelis, whose party holds 19 seats in the 300-seat parliament, said the unity government would last until 2014 and would have a specific agenda to negotiate a gradual “disengagement” from bailout austerity measures. He said that a condition for Democratic Left joining the government was the participation of Syriza.

There is the usual amount of fear and bravado:

[German Finance Minister Wolfgang] Schaeuble told today’s Rheinische Post newspaper that the euro area could handle a Greek departure as “the risks of contagion for other countries of the euro zone have been reduced.”
…
The risk is if Greece leaves and the save-the-euro response flops the world economy could face a sovereign-version of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s collapse. That makes Schaeuble’s confidence sound all too similar to former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson’s optimism that the U.S. financial system could withstand the 2008 loss of Lehman Brothers, only to witness the deepest global recession since World War II and a 40 percent slide in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in six months.

I don’t know if comparisons to Lehman hold up. Is there anybody in the world who hasn’t realized a Greek default and exit hasn’t been possible, if not likely, for the past year? Lehman collapsed in the course of a week. Of course, it’s always possible that we’re in the middle of an extended train wreck that everybody can see happening and nobody can do anything about.

Groupe Aeroplan Inc., proud issuer of AIM.PR.A, has changed its name to Aimia Inc..

It was a mildly positive day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums up 4bp, FixedResets winning 10bp and DeemedRetractibles gaining 7bp. Volatility was almost non-existent. Volume was also almost non-existent.

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	-0.8272 %	2,473.1
FixedFloater	4.41 %	3.77 %	27,973	17.78	1	0.1860 %	3,574.5
Floater	2.92 %	2.94 %	53,336	19.86	3	-0.8272 %	2,670.3
OpRet	4.77 %	2.74 %	49,841	1.10	5	-0.1329 %	2,505.9
SplitShare	5.24 %	5.05 %	62,727	0.60	4	-0.0148 %	2,699.2
Interest-Bearing	0.00 %	0.00 %	0	0.00	0	-0.1329 %	2,291.4
Perpetual-Premium	5.44 %	-0.13 %	74,888	0.09	25	0.0388 %	2,232.6
Perpetual-Discount	5.05 %	4.98 %	160,104	15.44	8	-0.0205 %	2,456.5
FixedReset	5.03 %	2.94 %	176,172	2.09	68	0.1020 %	2,405.2
Deemed-Retractible	4.94 %	3.53 %	166,329	1.56	45	0.0706 %	2,331.7

Performance Highlights
Issue	Index	Change	Notes
BAM.PR.B	Floater	-1.76 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-11 Maturity Price : 17.91 Evaluated at bid price : 17.91 Bid-YTW : 2.95 %

Volume Highlights
Issue	Index	Shares Traded	Notes
FTS.PR.E	OpRet	249,500	National crossed 245,200 at 26.53. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-06-01 Maturity Price : 25.75 Evaluated at bid price : 26.53 Bid-YTW : 2.74 %
BNS.PR.Z	FixedReset	59,797	TD crossed 40,000 at 25.10. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.06 Bid-YTW : 3.20 %
TD.PR.S	FixedReset	52,700	TD crossed 45,000 at 25.72. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-07-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.74 Bid-YTW : 2.67 %
TD.PR.Y	FixedReset	52,508	TD crossed 45,000 at 25.85. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-10-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.86 Bid-YTW : 2.82 %
TD.PR.K	FixedReset	29,230	Desjardins crossed 13,300 at 26.90. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-07-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.91 Bid-YTW : 2.79 %
TD.PR.O	Deemed-Retractible	23,927	TD crossed 19,400 at 25.92. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-06-10 Maturity Price : 25.75 Evaluated at bid price : 26.00 Bid-YTW : -5.28 %
There were 13 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.

Wide Spread Highlights
Issue	Index	Quote Data and Yield Notes
IAG.PR.C	FixedReset	Quote: 26.25 – 26.68 Spot Rate : 0.4300 Average : 0.2941 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.25 Bid-YTW : 3.49 %
W.PR.H	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 25.53 – 25.90 Spot Rate : 0.3700 Average : 0.2791 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-01-15 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.53 Bid-YTW : 2.93 %
FTS.PR.E	OpRet	Quote: 26.53 – 26.88 Spot Rate : 0.3500 Average : 0.2781 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-06-01 Maturity Price : 25.75 Evaluated at bid price : 26.53 Bid-YTW : 2.74 %
BAM.PR.J	OpRet	Quote: 26.75 – 27.03 Spot Rate : 0.2800 Average : 0.2101 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-03-31 Maturity Price : 26.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.75 Bid-YTW : 3.93 %
BAM.PR.B	Floater	Quote: 17.91 – 18.22 Spot Rate : 0.3100 Average : 0.2416 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-11 Maturity Price : 17.91 Evaluated at bid price : 17.91 Bid-YTW : 2.95 %
CIU.PR.A	Perpetual-Discount	Quote: 24.70 – 25.00 Spot Rate : 0.3000 Average : 0.2384 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-11 Maturity Price : 24.40 Evaluated at bid price : 24.70 Bid-YTW : 4.65 %

There’s trouble in North Korea:

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un publicly rebuked officials for the “pathetic” management of an amusement park in Pyongyang in an effort to bolster his image five months after taking power in the totalitarian state.

Kim toured the Mangyongdae Funfair in the capital and pointed out a broken pavement and chipped paint on rides while plucking weeds, the official Korean Central New Agency said yesterday. Improving the facility should be “an opportunity to remove outdated ideological views from officials’ heads and end their old work-style,” KCNA quoted him as saying.

However, I understand that the Hall of Head Squeezing is considered a leader in its field!

It must be a lot of fun reading Greek newspapers!

Greece’s political leaders go into a fifth day of talks today to carve out a government with Evangelos Venizelos, the socialist Pasok leader, set to press counterparts on a proposal for a unity government that would avert a new election.

Venizelos, who received the mandate to form a government yesterday, said there was a first “good omen” since the inconclusive May 6 election, after Democratic Left leader Fotis Kouvelis outlined a proposal designed to keep the country in the euro area.

“Our views are very close,” Venizelos said to reporters in Athens after meeting with Kouvelis. “I will continue the effort, preparing the ground for the phase of negotiation that will be coordinated by the president of the republic.”
…
Kouvelis, whose party holds 19 seats in the 300-seat parliament, said the unity government would last until 2014 and would have a specific agenda to negotiate a gradual “disengagement” from bailout austerity measures. He called on all parties to support his proposal.

The first opinion poll since Greeks voted showed anti- bailout party Syriza, which placed second in the election, would boost its showing if new elections were held.
…
Kouvelis’s Democratic Left party criticized Syriza yesterday, saying Tsipras was pushing the country toward another election and that his insistence on cancelling the bailout agreement “constitutes a break with the euro.”

Will there be a revulsion towards reusable grocery bags?

A nasty stomach bug likely spread to a girls’ soccer team from a reusable shopping bag that was kept in a hotel washroom, say U.S. disease detectives who tracked down the source of the outbreak.
…
Researchers said the virus aerosolized in the bathroom used by an infected girl settled onto a grocery bag and its contents. That served as the source of illness for seven team members aged 13 to 14 who were attending a soccer tournament in King County, Wash. in 2010.

I wonder how many nickels that cost!

It was a mixed day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums and FixedResets both gaining 5bp, while DeemedRetractibles were off 3bp. Volatility was minimal. Volume was well 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	0.8528 %	2,493.7
FixedFloater	4.42 %	3.78 %	27,979	17.77	1	0.6554 %	3,567.8
Floater	2.90 %	2.91 %	55,417	19.93	3	0.8528 %	2,692.6
OpRet	4.75 %	2.56 %	50,630	1.10	5	0.1532 %	2,509.2
SplitShare	5.24 %	2.93 %	62,698	0.60	4	0.0593 %	2,699.6
Interest-Bearing	0.00 %	0.00 %	0	0.00	0	0.1532 %	2,294.4
Perpetual-Premium	5.44 %	1.63 %	74,474	0.09	25	0.0461 %	2,231.7
Perpetual-Discount	5.05 %	4.97 %	161,556	15.49	8	0.5145 %	2,457.0
FixedReset	5.03 %	2.96 %	181,521	2.10	68	0.0496 %	2,402.8
Deemed-Retractible	4.94 %	3.54 %	172,227	1.95	45	-0.0269 %	2,330.0

Performance Highlights
Issue	Index	Change	Notes
SLF.PR.I	FixedReset	1.18 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2016-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.70 Bid-YTW : 3.71 %
BAM.PR.B	Floater	1.73 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-10 Maturity Price : 18.23 Evaluated at bid price : 18.23 Bid-YTW : 2.90 %
BAM.PR.M	Perpetual-Discount	1.94 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-10 Maturity Price : 23.69 Evaluated at bid price : 24.15 Bid-YTW : 4.95 %
BAM.PR.N	Perpetual-Discount	1.95 %	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-10 Maturity Price : 23.83 Evaluated at bid price : 24.11 Bid-YTW : 4.97 %

Volume Highlights
Issue	Index	Shares Traded	Notes
MFC.PR.G	FixedReset	42,470	RBC crossed 25,000 at 25.45. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2016-12-19 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.38 Bid-YTW : 4.20 %
ENB.PR.D	FixedReset	34,083	RBC crossed 10,000 at 25.80. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-03-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.78 Bid-YTW : 3.56 %
MFC.PR.E	FixedReset	30,317	TD crossed 25,000 at 26.45. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-09-19 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.40 Bid-YTW : 3.48 %
HSE.PR.A	FixedReset	27,705	RBC crossed 20,000 at 26.02. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-10 Maturity Price : 23.56 Evaluated at bid price : 26.01 Bid-YTW : 3.12 %
RY.PR.A	Deemed-Retractible	23,706	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-05-24 Maturity Price : 25.25 Evaluated at bid price : 25.66 Bid-YTW : 3.50 %
BNS.PR.Z	FixedReset	22,380	YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.08 Bid-YTW : 3.16 %
There were 23 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.

Wide Spread Highlights
Issue	Index	Quote Data and Yield Notes
IAG.PR.C	FixedReset	Quote: 26.06 – 26.28 Spot Rate : 0.2200 Average : 0.1452 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.06 Bid-YTW : 3.96 %
BAM.PR.C	Floater	Quote: 18.01 – 18.35 Spot Rate : 0.3400 Average : 0.2664 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-10 Maturity Price : 18.01 Evaluated at bid price : 18.01 Bid-YTW : 2.93 %
BNS.PR.X	FixedReset	Quote: 26.72 – 26.95 Spot Rate : 0.2300 Average : 0.1575 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-04-25 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.72 Bid-YTW : 2.74 %
RY.PR.I	FixedReset	Quote: 25.90 – 26.14 Spot Rate : 0.2400 Average : 0.1685 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-02-24 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.90 Bid-YTW : 2.83 %
FTS.PR.F	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 25.26 – 25.50 Spot Rate : 0.2400 Average : 0.1722 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-05-10 Maturity Price : 24.95 Evaluated at bid price : 25.26 Bid-YTW : 4.92 %
PWF.PR.H	Perpetual-Premium	Quote: 25.37 – 25.64 Spot Rate : 0.2700 Average : 0.2035 YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-06-09 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.37 Bid-YTW : -9.99 %