Archive for November, 2012

November 30, 2012

Friday, November 30th, 2012

I have long been amused that monetary loosening intended to provoke investment in productivity enhancing endeavors has instead had the result of inflating housing bubbles; and now Citibank says there’s another problem:

Worldwide quantitative easing may be making investors richer rather than encouraging business investment, according to Citigroup Inc. (C)

Fulfilling the goals of central bankers such as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, ultra-low interest rates and bond purchases are encouraging investors to buy stocks. Policy makers’ intent was that asset prices and wealth would rise, encouraging consumers and businesses to spend more.

The sticking point is the particular equities investors are favoring, Robert Buckland, Citigroup’s London-based chief global equity strategist, said in a Nov. 21 report. His research suggests they tend to choose companies that issue dividends and buy back shares rather than those that invest in the economy.

It was a modest day in the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums up 4bp while FixedResets and DeemedRetractibles both gained 2bp. Volatility was low but entirely comprised of losers. Volume was high.

And that’s it for another month!

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 0.1600 % 2,470.7
FixedFloater 4.18 % 3.53 % 27,289 18.24 1 0.3532 % 3,849.9
Floater 2.80 % 3.00 % 58,323 19.66 4 0.1600 % 2,667.7
OpRet 4.61 % 2.67 % 49,529 0.54 4 -0.2937 % 2,591.4
SplitShare 5.45 % 4.85 % 66,461 4.44 3 0.0000 % 2,855.0
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.2937 % 2,369.6
Perpetual-Premium 5.25 % 1.71 % 72,608 0.23 30 0.0362 % 2,319.4
Perpetual-Discount 4.86 % 4.89 % 125,232 15.58 4 0.2651 % 2,618.8
FixedReset 5.00 % 2.98 % 210,799 4.17 75 0.0176 % 2,446.4
Deemed-Retractible 4.91 % 2.39 % 116,928 0.48 46 0.0178 % 2,406.4
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
MFC.PR.G FixedReset -1.55 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2016-12-19
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.40
Bid-YTW : 3.93 %
BAM.PR.O OpRet -1.47 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Option Certainty
Maturity Date : 2013-06-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.51
Bid-YTW : 2.95 %
GWO.PR.N FixedReset -1.46 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.60
Bid-YTW : 3.68 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
FTS.PR.J Perpetual-Premium 186,070 Recent new issue.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-12-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.23
Bid-YTW : 4.68 %
BMO.PR.P FixedReset 185,604 National crossed blocks of 40,000 shares, 49,800 and 80,000, all at 26.65.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-02-25
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.65
Bid-YTW : 2.40 %
TD.PR.K FixedReset 144,246 Nesbitt crossed 35,000 at 26.90; RBC crossed 100,000 at the same price.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-07-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.85
Bid-YTW : 2.05 %
TD.PR.S FixedReset 128,253 RBC crossed 100,000 at 24.72.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.72
Bid-YTW : 3.27 %
TD.PR.Q Deemed-Retractible 127,800 Scotia crossed 75,000 at 26.50, then bought blocks of 14,200 shares, 10,800 and 12,400 from Nesbitt at the same price.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-01-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.45
Bid-YTW : -2.16 %
BAM.PF.C Perpetual-Discount 106,760 Recent new issue.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-30
Maturity Price : 24.21
Evaluated at bid price : 24.58
Bid-YTW : 4.94 %
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.O OpRet Quote: 25.51 – 26.01
Spot Rate : 0.5000
Average : 0.3118

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Option Certainty
Maturity Date : 2013-06-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.51
Bid-YTW : 2.95 %

MFC.PR.G FixedReset Quote: 25.40 – 25.78
Spot Rate : 0.3800
Average : 0.2113

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2016-12-19
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.40
Bid-YTW : 3.93 %

MFC.PR.A OpRet Quote: 25.63 – 26.22
Spot Rate : 0.5900
Average : 0.4486

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-19
Maturity Price : 25.50
Evaluated at bid price : 25.63
Bid-YTW : 2.74 %

IAG.PR.F Deemed-Retractible Quote: 26.53 – 26.77
Spot Rate : 0.2400
Average : 0.1457

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-03-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.53
Bid-YTW : 4.55 %

POW.PR.G Perpetual-Premium Quote: 26.86 – 27.19
Spot Rate : 0.3300
Average : 0.2468

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2019-04-15
Maturity Price : 25.50
Evaluated at bid price : 26.86
Bid-YTW : 4.67 %

SLF.PR.E Deemed-Retractible Quote: 23.94 – 24.14
Spot Rate : 0.2000
Average : 0.1332

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.94
Bid-YTW : 5.06 %

PIC.PR.A To Be Valued Daily Until Rights Expiry

Friday, November 30th, 2012

Strathbridge Asset Management has announced (although not yet on their website):

Premium Income Corporation (the “Fund”)(TSX: PIC.A)(TSX:PIC.PR.A)(TSX:PIC.RT) is pleased to announce that beginning Monday December 3, 2012 through Tuesday December 11, 2012 the Fund will be calculating and publishing on its website, a daily Net Asset Value per share with respect to its Class A Shares and Preferred Shares. This is being done to assist shareholders in making a fully informed investment decision regarding the exercise of Rights recently issued and which expire on December 11, 2012.

Under the Rights offering two Rights entitle the holder to acquire one Class A Share and one Preferred Share upon payment of the subscription price of $20.88 prior to the expiry date of December 11, 2012. Any Rights not exercised by December 11, 2012 will expire and be of no value. To exercise Rights holders should contact their advisors or dealers. Please note that some dealers may have an earlier deadline in order to process the exercise request.

After the expiry of the Rights on December 11, 2012 the Fund will revert to calculate its Net Asset Value on a weekly basis.

For further information, please contact Investor Relations at 416.681.3966, toll free at 1.800.725.7172 or visit www.strathbridge.com.

The rights issue was reported on PrefBlog.

PIC.PR.A is tracked by HIMIPref™ but is relegated to the Scraps index on credit concerns.

November 29, 2012

Friday, November 30th, 2012

Nothing happened today.

It was a mixed day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums gaining 7bp, FixedResets off 2bp and DeemedRetractibles gaining 6bp. Volatility was minimal. Volume was 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 0.0534 % 2,466.8
FixedFloater 4.19 % 3.54 % 26,924 18.21 1 -0.2203 % 3,836.4
Floater 2.80 % 3.00 % 56,100 19.66 4 0.0534 % 2,663.4
OpRet 4.60 % 0.34 % 38,854 0.57 4 -0.1986 % 2,599.0
SplitShare 5.45 % 4.77 % 62,738 4.45 3 -0.1587 % 2,855.0
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.1986 % 2,376.5
Perpetual-Premium 5.26 % 1.80 % 72,833 0.17 30 0.0744 % 2,318.6
Perpetual-Discount 4.87 % 4.90 % 125,889 15.57 4 -0.1324 % 2,611.8
FixedReset 5.00 % 3.01 % 203,072 4.17 75 -0.0215 % 2,446.0
Deemed-Retractible 4.91 % 2.86 % 120,738 0.48 46 0.0591 % 2,406.0
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
IAG.PR.A Deemed-Retractible -1.09 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.56
Bid-YTW : 4.81 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
BMO.PR.P FixedReset 437,597 RBC crossed blocks of 235,000 shares, 175,000 and 18,700, all at 26.65.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-02-25
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.62
Bid-YTW : 2.46 %
BAM.PF.C Perpetual-Discount 88,070 Recent new issue.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-29
Maturity Price : 24.14
Evaluated at bid price : 24.50
Bid-YTW : 4.96 %
ENB.PR.P FixedReset 74,098 Scotia bought 10,000 from CIBC at 25.07; Nesbitt crossed 25,000 at 25.08.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-29
Maturity Price : 23.12
Evaluated at bid price : 25.07
Bid-YTW : 3.73 %
TD.PR.Y FixedReset 71,122 Desjardins crossed 30,000 at 24.80.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.73
Bid-YTW : 3.42 %
GWO.PR.J FixedReset 70,770 National crossed 54,200 at 26.06.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-12-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.06
Bid-YTW : 1.57 %
GWO.PR.R Deemed-Retractible 46,100 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.03
Bid-YTW : 4.76 %
There were 37 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: 27.02 – 28.02
Spot Rate : 1.0000
Average : 0.5619

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-01
Maturity Price : 25.75
Evaluated at bid price : 27.02
Bid-YTW : -4.84 %

IAG.PR.A Deemed-Retractible Quote: 24.56 – 24.98
Spot Rate : 0.4200
Average : 0.2607

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.56
Bid-YTW : 4.81 %

GWO.PR.M Deemed-Retractible Quote: 26.63 – 26.97
Spot Rate : 0.3400
Average : 0.2171

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-03-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.63
Bid-YTW : 4.28 %

CU.PR.E Perpetual-Premium Quote: 26.26 – 26.59
Spot Rate : 0.3300
Average : 0.2251

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-09-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.26
Bid-YTW : 4.23 %

IGM.PR.B Perpetual-Premium Quote: 26.86 – 27.24
Spot Rate : 0.3800
Average : 0.2807

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-12-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.86
Bid-YTW : 4.25 %

GWO.PR.I Deemed-Retractible Quote: 24.22 – 24.55
Spot Rate : 0.3300
Average : 0.2314

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.22
Bid-YTW : 4.90 %

November 28, 2012

Wednesday, November 28th, 2012

Evan Soltas writes an interesting piece on Bloomberg titled Misconceptions 101: Why College Costs [in the US] Aren’t Soaring:

What has happened is a shift toward price discrimination — offering multiple prices for the same product. Universities have offset the increase in sticker price for most families through an expansion of grant-based financial aid and scholarships. That has caused the BLS measure to rise without increasing the net cost.

Wealthier families now pay more than ever to send their children to college. But for much of the middle class, the real net cost of college has not changed significantly; for much of the poor, the expansion of aid has increased the accessibility and affordability of a college education.

Data from the College Board show effectively no change in real net tuition and fees for dependent students at four-year public or private universities whose families are in the lower-two income quartiles. There also have been some increases in the real cost of room and board, but for families with below-average income, the rise has been on the order of 20 percent over 20 years.

At four-year public universities, the average sticker price for tuition and fees has risen 127 percent in real terms, from $3,810 in 1992 to $8,660 in this academic year. But only $990 of this $4,850 increase in sticker price, or 20 percent, is due to increases in net cost. The remaining 80 percent is price discrimination.

At four-year private universities, the story is the same. From 1992 to 2012, their average sticker price rose $12,020, or 70 percent, after inflation. Only 28 percent of this increase, or $3,370, has come from net cost; 72 percent of the increase is in the sticker price only.

In other words, the universities are now part of the tax system. Is this supposed to be good? I’m all in favour of merit-based scholarships and grants – but that’s not what is being defended. I also note that the increase in real net cost is about 25% over the past twenty years; it is not clear how this increase is justified.

Co-operators General Insurance Company was confirmed by DBRS at Pfd-3(high):

The Company is the cornerstone of The Co-operators Group Limited, a co-operative financial services organization with complementary interests in life insurance and investment management. As part of a larger financial services group, the Company enjoys a strong franchise in the co-operative space, which ranks it among the top five providers of general insurance products in Canada. The Company is positioned to benefit from recent management initiatives to reduce costs, contain underwriting risk and cultivate deeper customer relationships. The Company is demonstrating the discipline to pull back from unprofitable business even at the cost of lost revenue. More customer segmentation and differential pricing create a more favourable platform for improved future profitability.

In line with the improvement in underwriting profitability, return on equity has recovered to low double digits, which is in line with the Company’s targets. Investment income remains pressured by lower interest rates, although realized gains in market values of securities have supported investment results in recent periods. Financial leverage remains modest, with the preferred shares representing just 17.4% of capitalization. The corresponding fixed-charge coverage ratio has averaged between seven and eight times, which is strong for the rating category. The Company’s consolidated regulatory minimum (MCT) capital ratio is 269%, which is well in excess of the Company’s minimum target of 180% ($437 million of excess capital). Strong regulatory capital ratios at its major operating subsidiaries permit the regular flow of dividends up to the Company which, in addition to its own operating earnings, are available to meet its preferred share obligations. Liquidity is generally not a concern in the general insurance industry as premiums are written and invested in relatively liquid assets.

There’s an interesting article on Bloomberg about accountability of anti-piracy troops.

It was a day of very little movement for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums and DeemedRetractibles both gaining 1bp and FixedResets up 2bp. Volatility was low. Volume was a little above average.

PerpetualDiscounts now yield 4.89%, equivalent to 6.36% interest at the standard equivalency factor of 1.3x. Long Corporates now yield about 4.2%, so the pre-tax interest-equivalent spread (in this context, the “Seniority Spread”) is now about 215bp, a small (and perhaps spurious) increase from the 210bp reported November 21.

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 0.1738 % 2,465.4
FixedFloater 4.19 % 3.53 % 28,019 18.23 1 0.4425 % 3,844.9
Floater 2.80 % 3.02 % 55,731 19.62 4 0.1738 % 2,662.0
OpRet 4.59 % -0.60 % 36,383 0.58 4 0.1231 % 2,604.2
SplitShare 5.44 % 4.78 % 62,326 4.45 3 0.2120 % 2,859.6
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.1231 % 2,381.3
Perpetual-Premium 5.26 % 1.92 % 71,656 0.18 30 0.0052 % 2,316.8
Perpetual-Discount 4.86 % 4.89 % 127,022 15.58 4 -0.1221 % 2,615.3
FixedReset 5.00 % 3.01 % 205,909 4.17 75 0.0206 % 2,446.5
Deemed-Retractible 4.90 % 3.00 % 117,598 0.72 46 0.0068 % 2,404.6
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
IAG.PR.G FixedReset -1.16 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-06-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.51
Bid-YTW : 3.74 %
BNS.PR.O Deemed-Retractible -1.01 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-04-26
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.43
Bid-YTW : 2.26 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
BMO.PR.P FixedReset 222,371 Nesbitt crossed three blocks: 50,000 shares, 40,000 and 125,000, all at 26.65.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-02-25
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.66
Bid-YTW : 2.38 %
BAM.PF.C Perpetual-Discount 179,109 Recent new issue.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-28
Maturity Price : 24.19
Evaluated at bid price : 24.56
Bid-YTW : 4.95 %
ENB.PR.N FixedReset 81,635 Nesbitt crossed 50,000 at 25.25.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-28
Maturity Price : 23.19
Evaluated at bid price : 25.25
Bid-YTW : 3.80 %
CM.PR.E Perpetual-Premium 75,601 Desjardins crossed 67,900 at 25.75.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2012-12-28
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.79
Bid-YTW : -25.18 %
CM.PR.K FixedReset 75,055 Scotia crossed 60,000 at 26.30.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-07-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.30
Bid-YTW : 2.44 %
NA.PR.Q FixedReset 58,230 Recent new issue.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-11-15
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.80
Bid-YTW : 3.16 %
There were 36 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
IGM.PR.B Perpetual-Premium Quote: 26.84 – 27.10
Spot Rate : 0.2600
Average : 0.1718

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-12-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.84
Bid-YTW : 4.29 %

PWF.PR.L Perpetual-Premium Quote: 25.44 – 25.74
Spot Rate : 0.3000
Average : 0.2145

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-10-31
Maturity Price : 25.25
Evaluated at bid price : 25.44
Bid-YTW : 4.88 %

MFC.PR.F FixedReset Quote: 24.21 – 24.49
Spot Rate : 0.2800
Average : 0.1978

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.21
Bid-YTW : 3.72 %

CU.PR.D Perpetual-Premium Quote: 26.34 – 26.63
Spot Rate : 0.2900
Average : 0.2286

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-09-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.34
Bid-YTW : 4.18 %

BNS.PR.O Deemed-Retractible Quote: 26.43 – 26.60
Spot Rate : 0.1700
Average : 0.1098

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-04-26
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.43
Bid-YTW : 2.26 %

TD.PR.E FixedReset Quote: 26.45 – 26.65
Spot Rate : 0.2000
Average : 0.1425

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.45
Bid-YTW : 2.41 %

November 27, 2012

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

There is some chatter about London’s decline as a financial centre:

Investment bankers and traders at European banks should expect at least a 15 percent cut in pay this year, while U.S. lenders may leave compensation unchanged, three consultants surveyed by Bloomberg said. That’s because bonus pools at European banks may be reduced by as much as half, while those at U.S. firms, which can cushion the impact of falling fees in the region with earnings from home, may fall 20 percent, they said.

“The real split is coming, and we will see the quantum divide this year,” said Tom Gosling, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in London, referring to the difference in pay between the two financial centers. “U.S. regulators don’t have the same obsession with pay structures that European regulators have.”

While lower pay for all bankers reflects what may be a temporary drop in business, cuts at European lenders probably will be structural rather than cyclical, cementing a two-tier system, said John Purcell, chief executive officer of Purcell & Co., a London search firm. They also could spur some employees to relocate, according to recruitment company Astbury Marsden.

It’s not clear yet, but the latest Greek bail-out might work:

European finance ministers eased the terms on emergency aid for Greece, declaring after three years of false starts that Europe has found the formula for nursing the debt-stricken country back to health.

In the latest bid to keep the 17-nation euro intact, the ministers cut the rates on bailout loans, suspended interest payments for a decade, gave Greece more time to repay and engineered a Greek bond buyback. The country was also cleared to receive a 34.4 billion-euro ($44.7 billion) loan installment in December. Greek bonds rose.

“This has been a very difficult deal,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters in Brussels after chairing a 13-hour meeting that ended early today. “All initiatives decided upon today will bring Greece’s public debt clearly back on a sustainable path.”

After 240 billion euros in loan pledges and the biggest writedown of privately held debt failed to turn Greece around, the creditor governments led by Germany proclaimed the latest fix just as they grappled with swelling financing needs in Cyprus and a potential aid request by Spain, the fourth-largest euro economy.

To compensate for this little bit of progress, the Europeans have gone completely nuts on Credit Rating Agencies:

Credit ratings companies face curbs on when they can assess government debt and restrictions on their ownership under draft plans agreed on by European Union officials and legislators.

Lawmakers from the European Parliament and Cyprus, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, also agreed today to allow investors to sue ratings companies if they lose money because of malpractice or gross negligence.

[ EU financial services chief Michel] Barnier proposed the tougher ratings rules after warnings from nations including France and Germany that downgrades of sovereign debt had deepened the bloc’s fiscal crisis. Barnier said last year that ratings companies were guilty of “serious mistakes” and shouldn’t be allowed to “increase market volatility” through ill-timed or unjustified downgrades.

On sovereign debt ratings, lawmakers and officials agreed that each credit rating firm must pick three days a year when they would be allowed to give so-called unsolicited assessments of governments’ creditworthiness, according to Jean-Paul Gauzes, a lawmaker involved in the talks. Ratings firms may get a chance to issue unsolicited ratings outside those dates if they could justify it to regulators.

The EU also plans to block any investor from owning stakes of more than 5 percent in more than one rating company, Gauzes said in an interview after the meeting.

The commission said that it will weigh further steps to regulate the credit ratings market, including the creation of a “European credit rating agency.” Officials will report on the possible step by 2016, it said.

All this sounds like a really good reason for CRAs to set up shop well outside the EU.

I wonder if they will declare the OECD to be illegal?

The OECD slashed its global growth forecasts on Tuesday, warning that the debt crisis in the recession-hit euro zone is the greatest threat to the world economy.

In light of the dire economic outlook, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development urged central banks to prepare for more exceptional monetary easing if politicians fail to come up with credible answers to the debt crisis.

Cutting its estimates, the OECD forecast that the euro zone economy would contract 0.4 per cent this year and another 0.1 per cent next year, only returning to growth in 2014 with a rate of 1.3 per cent.

Maybe that’s related to the bad press for long sovereigns:

Given the overheated market, it’s understandable why Michael Sabia, chief executive of the Caisse, told the Financial Times on Tuesday that he is planning to lower his institution’s $58.8-billion allocation to fixed-income investments by at least $7-billion next year. And why [Boston-based fund manager] GMO, a highly regarded money manager, told the FT it has “given up” on long-dated sovereign debt.

But if big institutions are starting to pull out of fixed income investments, ordinary Canadians are continuing to pile in. As of the end of October, retail investors had poured a net $16.3-billion into bond funds so far in 2012 – almost three times as much as in the same period in 2011 – while redeeming a net $11.5-billion from equity funds, according to the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.

The Caisse hasn’t always been the best proxy for smart money, but GMO has. Headed by the famed investor Jeremy Grantham, it shifted its portfolios to a high cash position in late 2007, just before the credit crisis mushroomed, and also managed to avoid being sucked in by the Internet bubble in the late 1990s.

Now, GMO is holding 40 per cent of its assets in cash, according to the FT. Canadians thinking it’s high time they added more bonds to their portfolios should think twice; there may be safer places to keep that money.

Why is it so expensive to go to school in the US?:

At universities nationwide, employment of administrators jumped 60 percent from 1993 to 2009, 10 times the growth rate for tenured faculty. “Administrative bloat is clearly contributing to the overall cost of higher education,” says Jay Greene, an education professor at the University of Arkansas. In a 2010 study, Greene found that from 1993 to 2007, spending on administration rose almost twice as fast as funding for research and teaching at 198 leading U.S. universities.

It was a negative day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums down 5bp, FixedResets losing 18bp and DeemedRetractibles off 3bp. Volatility was average, but all negative. 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 -0.0534 % 2,461.2
FixedFloater 4.20 % 3.55 % 29,155 18.20 1 -0.0442 % 3,827.9
Floater 2.81 % 3.03 % 54,771 19.60 4 -0.0534 % 2,657.4
OpRet 4.59 % -0.40 % 36,707 0.58 4 0.1043 % 2,601.0
SplitShare 5.45 % 4.77 % 61,069 4.45 3 -0.1191 % 2,853.5
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.1043 % 2,378.3
Perpetual-Premium 5.26 % 2.29 % 72,619 0.18 30 -0.0504 % 2,316.7
Perpetual-Discount 4.86 % 4.90 % 126,520 15.61 4 -0.6369 % 2,618.5
FixedReset 5.00 % 2.99 % 205,080 4.18 75 -0.1813 % 2,446.0
Deemed-Retractible 4.90 % 3.19 % 118,721 0.90 46 -0.0304 % 2,404.4
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
PWF.PR.R Perpetual-Premium -1.85 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.55
Bid-YTW : 4.69 %
MFC.PR.F FixedReset -1.41 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.40
Bid-YTW : 3.62 %
BNS.PR.Q FixedReset -1.32 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.62
Bid-YTW : 3.48 %
ELF.PR.H Perpetual-Premium -1.00 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-17
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.65
Bid-YTW : 5.24 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
BAM.PF.C Perpetual-Discount 384,725 New issue settled today.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-27
Maturity Price : 24.32
Evaluated at bid price : 24.70
Bid-YTW : 4.92 %
MFC.PR.E FixedReset 127,457 Scotia sold 17,800 to Nesbitt at 26.10, then crossed 88,800 at the same price.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-09-19
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.10
Bid-YTW : 2.92 %
NA.PR.Q FixedReset 102,115 RBC crossed 29,000 at 25.82.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-11-15
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.80
Bid-YTW : 3.16 %
BMO.PR.M FixedReset 68,568 National crossed 50,000 at 24.94.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.80
Bid-YTW : 3.24 %
ENB.PR.F FixedReset 64,252 Nesbitt bought 14,000 from TD at 25.25, then crossed 30,000 at the same price.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-27
Maturity Price : 23.19
Evaluated at bid price : 25.19
Bid-YTW : 3.71 %
BMO.PR.P FixedReset 61,241 Scotia crossed 50,000 at 26.55.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-02-25
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.55
Bid-YTW : 2.57 %
There were 44 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
PWF.PR.R Perpetual-Premium Quote: 26.55 – 27.10
Spot Rate : 0.5500
Average : 0.3901

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.55
Bid-YTW : 4.69 %

TD.PR.I FixedReset Quote: 26.56 – 26.88
Spot Rate : 0.3200
Average : 0.1955

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-07-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.56
Bid-YTW : 2.72 %

MFC.PR.A OpRet Quote: 25.56 – 25.88
Spot Rate : 0.3200
Average : 0.2041

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-19
Maturity Price : 25.50
Evaluated at bid price : 25.56
Bid-YTW : 3.19 %

PWF.PR.O Perpetual-Premium Quote: 26.64 – 27.00
Spot Rate : 0.3600
Average : 0.2533

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-10-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.64
Bid-YTW : 4.48 %

CU.PR.D Perpetual-Premium Quote: 26.42 – 26.66
Spot Rate : 0.2400
Average : 0.1614

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-09-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.42
Bid-YTW : 4.14 %

CM.PR.E Perpetual-Premium Quote: 25.75 – 25.96
Spot Rate : 0.2100
Average : 0.1320

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2012-12-27
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.75
Bid-YTW : -23.69 %

BAM.PF.C Falls on Good Volume

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

Brookfield Asset Management has announced:

the completion of its previously announced 4.85% perpetual Class A Preference Shares, Series 36 (“Preferred Shares”) issue in the amount of CDN$200,000,000. Brookfield issued 8,000,000 Preferred Shares at a price of CDN$25.00 per share, for total gross proceeds of CDN$200,000,000. The Preferred Shares will commence trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange this morning under the ticker symbol BAM.PF.C.

BAM.PF.C is a Straight Perpetual, 4.85%, announced November 20. The issue size of $200-million indicates that the greenshoe option was exercised in full.

The issue traded 384,725 shares today in a range of 24.64-95 before closing at 24.70-73, 7×40.

BAM.PF.C will be tracked by HIMIPref™ and initially assigned to the PerpetualDiscount index. Vital statistics are:

BAM.PF.C Perpetual-Discount YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-27
Maturity Price : 24.32
Evaluated at bid price : 24.70
Bid-YTW : 4.92 %

New Issue: MFC FixedReset 4.00%+261

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

Manulife Financial Corporation has announced:

a Canadian public offering of Non-cumulative Rate Reset Class 1 Shares Series 11 (“Series 11 Preferred Shares”). Manulife will issue 8 million Series 11 Preferred Shares priced at $25 per share to raise gross proceeds of $200 million. The offering will be underwritten by a syndicate of investment dealers co-led by Scotiabank, RBC Capital Markets and TD Securities Inc. and is anticipated to qualify as Tier 1 capital for Manulife. The expected closing date for the offering is December 4, 2012. Manulife intends to file a prospectus supplement to its July 18, 2012 base shelf prospectus in respect of this issue.

Holders of the Series 11 Preferred Shares will be entitled to receive a non-cumulative quarterly fixed dividend yielding 4.00 per cent annually, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of Manulife, for the initial period ending March 19, 2018. Thereafter, the dividend rate will be reset every five years at a rate equal to the 5-year Government of Canada bond yield plus 2.61 per cent.

Holders of Series 11 Preferred Shares will have the right, at their option, to convert their shares into Non-cumulative Rate Reset Class 1 Shares Series 12 (“Series 12 Preferred Shares”), subject to certain conditions, on March 19, 2018 and on March 19 every five years thereafter. Holders of the Series 12 Preferred Shares will be entitled to receive non-cumulative quarterly floating dividends, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of Manulife, at a rate equal to the three-month Government of Canada Treasury Bill yield plus 2.61 per cent.

The net proceeds from the offering will be utilized for general corporate purposes, including refinancing of maturing debt and investment in subsidiaries.

“Our financing activities take into account future refinancing needs. We have taken the opportunity to issue preferred shares in favourable markets,” said Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Steve Roder.

November 26, 2012

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

Lapdog Carney got a better job:

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney was unexpectedly named head of the Bank of England as the U.K. government looked abroad for a candidate untainted by financial turmoil to lead the beefed-up central bank.

Carney, a 47-year old former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. managing director, will become the first foreigner to run the 318-year-old institution as it absorbs new powers to oversee banks. He’ll replace Mervyn King from July as policy makers pursue record-low interest rates and asset-buying to propel the economy from its first double-dip recession since the 1970s.

“Carney is a surprise choice but he is a highly respected central banker,” said Philip Shaw, an economist at Investec Securities in London. “The Canadian banking system is widely regarded to be in good shape because of the Bank of Canada’s approach to regulation ahead of the credit crisis, and this may have been a factor in his appointment.”

In announcing his selection and seeking to get ahead of any criticism about his decision to look overseas for talent, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne described Carney as “quite simply the best, most experienced and most qualified person in the world to do the job.”

Mr. Shaw will doubtless be surprised to learn that the BoC does not, in fact, regulate banks in Canada – that’s what OSFI pretends to do – as Dickson was very quick to point out:

“Mr. Carney brings tremendous credibility in this new role and I will miss his counsel as a member of the team of government agencies in Canada that work together in support of a sound and stable financial system.”

Now we are all on tenterhooks: will Carney be able to read Osborne’s handwriting properly when drafting speeches? Osborne & Cameron remind me of another political pair:

David Cameron has ruled out George Osborne giving up his political strategy role to focus on being Chancellor.

Despite fierce criticism of Mr Osborne for grim economic figures, the Prime Minister told colleagues that Downing Street and the Treasury working hand in hand was a ‘strength, not a weakness’.

But Lord Ryder, a former Tory chief whip, has claimed both men are ‘obsessed with management of 24-hour news’ and called for there to be a ‘full-time’ Chancellor.

Revenge of the nerds?:

Having left the heavy-lifting to technology companies until early this year, San Francisco’s non-tech employers are playing a growing role in the city’s labor recovery. Positions in everything from retail to construction to hospitality now comprise about 75 percent of the city’s job growth, helping the Northern Californian hub add jobs at among the fastest rates in the nation and reduce its unemployment rate to 6.5 percent.

San Francisco’s experience is also seen in broadening expansions in other U.S. technology centers such as Seattle and Boston, easing concerns that innovation would create work for only the most highly-skilled and highly-paid while others get left behind. Every new technology job in a city creates five additional local jobs outside the sector over time, according to an analysis by Enrico Moretti, an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

“People were missing the big picture,” said Moretti, author of “The New Geography of Jobs” published in May. “Tech cannot offer jobs to the average worker, but every software engineer attracted to Twitter will indirectly support many more service jobs. My research suggests that this multiplier effect is particularly large for high-tech jobs.”

The OSC has released OSC Staff Notice 33-738: 2012 OSC Annual Summary Report for Dealers, Advisers and Investment Fund Managers. The associated NOTICE AND REQUEST FOR COMMENT ON PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 31-103
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS, EXEMPTIONS AND ONGOING REGISTRANT OBLIGATIONS AND TO COMPANION POLICY 31-103CP REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS, EXEMPTIONS AND ONGOING REGISTRANT OBLIGATIONS June 14, 2012 (2nd Publication) Cost Disclosure, Performance Reporting and Client Statements
states:

(v) Percentage return calculation method

We are proposing to mandate that registrants use the dollar-weighted method in calculating the percentage return on a client’s account or portfolio, in order to promote consistency and comparability in investor reporting from one registrant to another.

We had previously considered permitting registrants to choose between a time-weighted and dollar-weighted performance calculation method. We have decided to mandate the dollar-weighted method because it most accurately reflects the actual return of the client’s investments. This is in keeping with one of the main themes of the project — allowing investors to measure how their investments have performed.

Time-weighted methods are generally used to evaluate the registrant’s performance in managing an account, as the returns are calculated without taking into consideration any external cash flows. These methods isolate the portion of an account’s return that is attributable solely to the registrant’s actions. The philosophy behind time-weighted methods is that a registrant’s performance should be measured independently of external cash flows, because contributions and withdrawals by an investor are out of the registrant’s control.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Issue for comment

We invite comments on the benefits and constraints of the proposal to mandate the use of the dollar-weighted method, in particular as they relate to providing meaningful information to investors.

We are not prohibiting the use of the time-weighted method, but if a registered firm uses such a method, it must be in addition to the dollar-weighted calculation.

Given the very well known tendency of investors to make bad timing decisions , this will probably result in a decline of most honestly reported performance figures. There is no indication as yet as to whether mutual funds will be bound by the same rules.

Some Ontario lawyers are saying there are too many lawyers:

In another vote Thursday, the council responded to a critical shortage of articling positions by creating an alternative path to the profession. It calls for four months of extra classroom education as well as an unpaid, co-op work placement.

During debate, some council members expressed misgivings about the competency of many students flocking to a legal career.

“The law schools are now sending us flood upon flood of students,” said lawyer Bradley Wright. “Because no one fails any more, being accepted into first-year law school guarantees you a call to the bar. … Just show up at the door and you will be accepted into our profession.”

I’ll believe it when prices come down.

The Canadian preferred share market suffered a small decline today, with PerpetualPremiums and FixedResets down 7bp and DeemedRetractibles off 2bp. Volatility was non-existent. Volume was average and dominated by ENB issues in the wake of the new issue announcement.

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 0.0134 % 2,462.5
FixedFloater 4.20 % 3.55 % 28,066 18.21 1 0.0000 % 3,829.6
Floater 2.81 % 3.02 % 55,240 19.63 4 0.0134 % 2,658.8
OpRet 4.60 % 0.26 % 35,932 0.58 4 0.1139 % 2,598.3
SplitShare 5.44 % 4.77 % 60,949 4.45 3 -0.2509 % 2,856.9
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.1139 % 2,375.9
Perpetual-Premium 5.26 % 2.29 % 71,653 0.25 30 -0.0723 % 2,317.9
Perpetual-Discount 4.83 % 4.88 % 103,264 15.62 3 0.1357 % 2,635.3
FixedReset 4.99 % 2.99 % 205,705 4.18 75 -0.0724 % 2,450.5
Deemed-Retractible 4.90 % 3.21 % 119,796 0.65 46 -0.0224 % 2,405.1
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
No individual gains or losses exceeding 1%!
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
BNS.PR.P FixedReset 132,418 RBC bought blocks of 20,000 at 25.08 and 37,800 at 25.06 from Scotia, as well as crossing 30,000 at 25.08.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.10
Bid-YTW : 3.44 %
ENB.PR.N FixedReset 113,700 Nesbitt crossed 60,000 at 25.20 and bought 10,000 from TD at 25.25.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-26
Maturity Price : 23.18
Evaluated at bid price : 25.21
Bid-YTW : 3.81 %
HSE.PR.A FixedReset 108,450 RBC crossed 98,400 at 25.70.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-26
Maturity Price : 23.54
Evaluated at bid price : 25.65
Bid-YTW : 2.99 %
ENB.PR.B FixedReset 97,981 RBC crossed 30,000 at 25.25.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-26
Maturity Price : 23.28
Evaluated at bid price : 25.25
Bid-YTW : 3.60 %
ENB.PR.P FixedReset 82,222 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-26
Maturity Price : 23.14
Evaluated at bid price : 25.14
Bid-YTW : 3.71 %
ENB.PR.F FixedReset 73,983 Nesbitt bought 14,300 from Scotia at 25.25.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-26
Maturity Price : 23.21
Evaluated at bid price : 25.26
Bid-YTW : 3.69 %
There were 34 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
BAM.PR.G FixedFloater Quote: 22.61 – 23.50
Spot Rate : 0.8900
Average : 0.6234

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-26
Maturity Price : 22.98
Evaluated at bid price : 22.61
Bid-YTW : 3.55 %

POW.PR.D Perpetual-Premium Quote: 25.35 – 25.69
Spot Rate : 0.3400
Average : 0.2119

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-10-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.35
Bid-YTW : 4.58 %

BNA.PR.D SplitShare Quote: 26.18 – 26.60
Spot Rate : 0.4200
Average : 0.3223

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2012-12-26
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.18
Bid-YTW : -3.95 %

GWO.PR.P Deemed-Retractible Quote: 26.52 – 26.75
Spot Rate : 0.2300
Average : 0.1518

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.52
Bid-YTW : 4.72 %

BNA.PR.E SplitShare Quote: 25.09 – 25.50
Spot Rate : 0.4100
Average : 0.3402

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2017-12-10
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.09
Bid-YTW : 4.77 %

PWF.PR.G Perpetual-Premium Quote: 25.40 – 25.60
Spot Rate : 0.2000
Average : 0.1342

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2012-12-26
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.40
Bid-YTW : -8.19 %

New Issue: ENB FixedReset 4.00%+250

Monday, November 26th, 2012

Enbridge Inc. has announced:

that it has entered into an agreement with a group of underwriters to sell 8 million cumulative redeemable preference shares, series R (the “Series R Preferred Shares”) at a price of $25.00 per share for distribution to the public. The aggregate gross proceeds will be $200 million. Closing of the offering is expected on December 5, 2012.

The holders of Series R Preferred Shares will be entitled to receive fixed cumulative dividends at an annual rate of $1.00 per share, payable quarterly on the 1st day of March, June, September and December, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of Enbridge, yielding 4.00 per cent per annum, for the initial fixed rate period to but excluding June 1, 2019. The first quarterly dividend payment date is scheduled for March 1, 2013. The dividend rate will reset on June 1, 2019 and every five years thereafter at a rate equal to the sum of the then five-year Canadian Government bond yield plus 2.50 per cent. The Series R Preferred Shares are redeemable by Enbridge, at its option, on June 1, 2019 and on June 1 of every fifth year thereafter.

The holders of Series R Preferred Shares will have the right to convert their shares into cumulative redeemable preference shares, series S (the “Series S Preferred Shares”), subject to certain conditions, on June 1, 2019 and on June 1 of every fifth year thereafter. The holders of Series S Preferred Shares will be entitled to receive quarterly floating rate cumulative dividends, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of Enbridge, at a rate equal to the sum of the then 90-day Government of Canada treasury bill rate plus 2.50 per cent.

Enbridge has granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable at any time up to 48 hours prior to the closing of the offering, to purchase up to an additional 2 million Series R Preferred Shares at a price of $25.00 per share.

The offering is being made only in Canada by means of a prospectus. Proceeds will be used to partially fund capital projects, to reduce existing indebtedness and for other general corporate purposes of the Corporation and its affiliates.

The syndicate of underwriters is co-led by Scotiabank, RBC Capital Markets, and TD Securities Inc.

Update: Upsized to $400-million:

Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB) today announced that as a result of strong investor demand for its previously announced offering of cumulative redeemable preference shares, series R (the “Series R Preferred Shares”), the size of the offering has been increased to 16 million shares. The aggregate gross proceeds will be CAD$400 million. Closing of the offering is expected on December 5, 2012.

The holders of Series R Preferred Shares will be entitled to receive fixed cumulative dividends at an annual rate of $1.00 per share, payable quarterly on the 1st day of March, June, September and December, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of Enbridge, yielding 4.00 per cent per annum, for the initial fixed rate period to but excluding June 1, 2019. The first quarterly dividend payment date is scheduled for March 1, 2013. The dividend rate will reset on June 1, 2019 and every five years thereafter at a rate equal to the sum of the then five-year Canadian Government bond yield plus 2.50 per cent. The Series R Preferred Shares are redeemable by Enbridge, at its option, on June 1, 2019 and on June 1 of every fifth year thereafter.

The holders of Series R Preferred Shares will have the right to convert their shares into cumulative redeemable preference shares, series S (the “Series S Preferred Shares”), subject to certain conditions, on June 1, 2019 and on June 1 of every fifth year thereafter. The holders of Series S Preferred Shares will be entitled to receive quarterly floating rate cumulative dividends, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of Enbridge, at a rate equal to the sum of the then 90-day Government of Canada treasury bill rate plus 2.50 per cent.

The offering is being made only in Canada by means of a prospectus. Proceeds will be used to partially fund capital projects, to reduce existing indebtedness and for other general corporate purposes of the Corporation and its affiliates.

The syndicate of underwriters is co-led by Scotiabank, RBC Capital Markets, and TD Securities Inc.

Update, 2012-11-27: Rated Pfd-2(low) by DBRS.

November 23, 2012

Saturday, November 24th, 2012

Richard W. Fisher gave a rather provocative speech last week titled The State of the West (With Reference to George Shultz, Eisenhower, Buzz Lightyear, George Strait, the San Francisco Fed and Adam and Eve) :

I’ll just say this: Our Congress—past and present—has behaved disgracefully in discharging its fiscal duty. Its members have not shown themselves to be true born leaders.

The jig is up. Our fiscal authorities have mortgaged the material assets of our grandchildren to the nth degree. We are at risk of losing our political heritage of reaching across the aisle to work for the common good. In the minds of many, our government’s fiscal misfeasance threatens the world’s respect for America as the beacon of democracy.

Only the Congress of the United States can now save us from fiscal perdition. The Federal Reserve cannot. The Federal Reserve has been carrying the ball for the fiscal authorities by holding down interest rates in an attempt to stoke the recovery while the fiscal authorities wrestle themselves off the mat. But there are limits to what a monetary authority can do. For the central bank also plays a fiduciary role for the American people and, given our franchise as the globe’s premier reserve currency, the world. We dare not become the central bank counterpart to Congress by adopting a Buzz Lightyear approach of “To infinity and beyond!” by endlessly purchasing U.S. Treasuries and agency debt so as to encumber future generations of central bankers with Hobson’s choices when it comes to undoing what seems contemporarily appropriate.

So my only comment today regarding the recent federal elections is this: Pray that the president and the Congress will at last tackle the fiscal imbroglio they and their predecessors created and only they can undo.

This speech has been energetically attacked by Tim Duy, but only on the basis of timing:

What is it about fiscal policy that brings out the crazy?  Because it all seems pretty simple.  Joe Weisenthal hits the nail on the head:

The U.S. recovery has been remarkable on a comparative basis precisely for one reason: Because despite all of the rhetoric, the U.S. has completely avoided the austerity madness that's gripped much of the world.

Weisenthal points us to Ryan Avent and Josh Lehner, both showing in different ways the better post-recession outcomes experienced by the US compared to other economies.  Paul Krugman extends the argument by comparing the divergent path of Eurozone and US unemployment rates.  The key difference in policy – the US pursued a more aggressive fiscal policy and didn't pull back too quickly.  I don't think you can emphasize this point enough.   

Which brings us to the fiscal cliff (or slope, which is more accurate and avoids creating the false impression that all is lost come January 1).  The tax increases and spending cuts in place promise to repeat the mistakes of the UK and the Eurozone by pivoting too fast and too hard into the realm of fiscal austerity.  A solution to the fiscal cliff means smoothing the path to fiscal consolidation (optimally, with no austerity in the near term, but I don't see that as an outcome).

What I want to see from the politicians is sufficient changes to put the US into a structural surplus. Note the word “structural” – it does not mean diving off the fiscal cliff, although according to the Congressional Budget Office, even giving full effect to the fiscal cliff does not lead to a structural surplus; there is a projected deficit every year through 2022, the end of their horizon. Thus, while I would not like to see a sudden dive of the fiscal cliff, I feel that a path must be taken that goes beyond those projected measures (or equivalent) over the medium term.


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It was a mixed day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums up 12bp, FixedResets gaining 5bp and DeemedRetractibles off 1bp. Volatility continued to be low. FixedResets dominated a day of relatively low volume, perhaps influenced by a move towards the new FixedReset ETF, ZPR, which now claims to have $5.2-million under management and traded slightly under 40,000 shares today (at about $15 each, or a total of $0.6-million).

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 -0.1867 % 2,462.1
FixedFloater 4.20 % 3.54 % 28,397 18.21 1 -0.3965 % 3,829.6
Floater 2.81 % 3.02 % 55,764 19.63 4 -0.1867 % 2,658.5
OpRet 4.60 % 0.13 % 36,268 0.59 4 0.0570 % 2,595.3
SplitShare 5.43 % 4.75 % 61,490 4.46 3 0.0396 % 2,864.1
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.0570 % 2,373.2
Perpetual-Premium 5.25 % 2.66 % 72,007 0.87 30 0.1235 % 2,319.6
Perpetual-Discount 4.83 % 4.88 % 98,028 15.63 3 0.2312 % 2,631.7
FixedReset 4.98 % 2.99 % 200,308 4.19 75 0.0458 % 2,452.3
Deemed-Retractible 4.90 % 2.58 % 124,076 0.74 46 -0.0084 % 2,405.7
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
HSB.PR.D Deemed-Retractible -1.19 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2012-12-31
Maturity Price : 25.50
Evaluated at bid price : 25.80
Bid-YTW : 0.59 %
ELF.PR.H Perpetual-Premium 1.09 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-17
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.89
Bid-YTW : 5.09 %
GWO.PR.N FixedReset 1.29 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.43
Bid-YTW : 3.33 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
BNS.PR.P FixedReset 348,735 RBC crossed 218,700 at 25.10; Nesbitt crossed 100,000 at the same price.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.09
Bid-YTW : 3.42 %
GWO.PR.N FixedReset 127,325 TD crossed 122,500 at 24.35.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.43
Bid-YTW : 3.33 %
BNS.PR.R FixedReset 118,200 RBC crossed blocks of 86,700 and 30,000, both at 25.25.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.23
Bid-YTW : 3.35 %
TRP.PR.A FixedReset 106,602 Nesbitt crossed 96,800 at 25.60.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-11-23
Maturity Price : 23.78
Evaluated at bid price : 25.68
Bid-YTW : 3.14 %
BMO.PR.M FixedReset 92,537 Desjardins crossed 11,000 at 24.97; Scotia crossed 28,700 at the same price. Desjardins bought 10,000 from TD at 24.95.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.94
Bid-YTW : 3.13 %
GWO.PR.J FixedReset 73,676 TD crossed 55,700 at 26.20.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-12-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.25
Bid-YTW : 2.21 %
There were 23 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
BNA.PR.E SplitShare Quote: 25.10 – 25.50
Spot Rate : 0.4000
Average : 0.2636

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2017-12-10
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.10
Bid-YTW : 4.75 %

PWF.PR.R Perpetual-Premium Quote: 27.10 – 27.44
Spot Rate : 0.3400
Average : 0.2091

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-04-30
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 27.10
Bid-YTW : 4.34 %

MFC.PR.B Deemed-Retractible Quote: 24.31 – 24.56
Spot Rate : 0.2500
Average : 0.1647

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.31
Bid-YTW : 5.01 %

TCA.PR.Y Perpetual-Premium Quote: 52.01 – 52.50
Spot Rate : 0.4900
Average : 0.4055

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-03-05
Maturity Price : 50.00
Evaluated at bid price : 52.01
Bid-YTW : 2.66 %

RY.PR.I FixedReset Quote: 25.27 – 25.49
Spot Rate : 0.2200
Average : 0.1357

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.27
Bid-YTW : 3.34 %

MFC.PR.C Deemed-Retractible Quote: 24.00 – 24.24
Spot Rate : 0.2400
Average : 0.1750

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.00
Bid-YTW : 5.03 %