More kerfuffle over the TMX / LSE merger:
Speaking to provincial legislators on Thursday, Howard Wetston, chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission, said the final decision will hinge on whether the controversial $3.1-billion deal is in the public interest.
Mr. Wetston said the OSC would “resist any watering down or diminution” of its responsibility over the Toronto Stock Exchange and that concerns around the impact of the merger on corporate governance are also “very relevant.”
…
In a two-page open letter, [TMX CEO] Mr. [Tom] Kloet restated his position that the merger would occur at the holding company level, and the TSX would continue to exist as a stand-alone operation with regulatory oversight remaining intact.“It really is that simple — no foreign regulator, including the U.K. Financial Services Authority, will have any regulatory powers or influence over any of our Canadian exchanges, entities or issuers,” he wrote in the statement.
The Financial Post has published the full letter. It also excerpted remarks by Barbara Stymiest that I didn’t consider too impressive.
As for me … well, first off, I think the question that’s being asked is upside down. Government should only consider interfering if the transaction can be shown to be a net negative for Canada – if then – rather than the onus being on the transactors to show a net benefit. Whose business is it, anyway?
Secondly, I think that an underlying question is the power of the banks in the Canadian financial marketplace, which is basically total. A bigger institution with an international will be less likely to kowtow to the banks when push comes to shove. And that wil be a Good Thing.
And thirdly, I would like to see less government influence on internal operations: I am very concerned about OSFI’s attempts to debase the bond indices and would have greater faith in bond indices prepared by a trans-national corporation.
Another day of mixed results for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualDiscounts gaining 1bp, FixedResets up 3bp and DeemeRetractibles getting smacked for a loss of 16bp. Volume was high.
| 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 | -0.0951 % | 2,396.8 |
| FixedFloater | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | -0.0951 % | 3,604.7 |
| Floater | 2.50 % | 2.27 % | 42,982 | 21.54 | 4 | -0.0951 % | 2,587.9 |
| OpRet | 4.88 % | 3.65 % | 56,351 | 1.18 | 9 | -0.1202 % | 2,389.8 |
| SplitShare | 5.09 % | 2.93 % | 200,441 | 1.03 | 5 | -0.0776 % | 2,484.0 |
| Interest-Bearing | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | -0.1202 % | 2,185.3 |
| Perpetual-Premium | 5.75 % | 5.66 % | 136,659 | 6.16 | 10 | -0.1528 % | 2,030.7 |
| Perpetual-Discount | 5.51 % | 5.66 % | 125,800 | 14.35 | 14 | 0.0061 % | 2,117.3 |
| FixedReset | 5.21 % | 3.47 % | 205,710 | 2.98 | 54 | 0.0328 % | 2,281.5 |
| Deemed-Retractible | 5.24 % | 5.30 % | 362,795 | 8.27 | 53 | -0.1641 % | 2,074.6 |
| Performance Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Change | Notes |
| SLF.PR.D | Deemed-Retractible | -1.66 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 21.34 Bid-YTW : 6.33 % |
| GWO.PR.M | Deemed-Retractible | -1.38 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2019-04-30 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.10 Bid-YTW : 5.73 % |
| TD.PR.I | FixedReset | 1.09 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-08-30 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 27.70 Bid-YTW : 3.18 % |
| RY.PR.L | FixedReset | 1.13 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-03-26 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.75 Bid-YTW : 3.24 % |
| CIU.PR.B | FixedReset | 1.31 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-07-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 27.81 Bid-YTW : 3.22 % |
| Volume Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Shares Traded |
Notes |
| RY.PR.L | FixedReset | 115,758 | TD bought blocks of 20,000 and 10,000 from Nesbitt, both at 27.00; then crossed blocks of 27,500 and 27,000 at the same price. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-03-26 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.75 Bid-YTW : 3.24 % |
| NA.PR.P | FixedReset | 96,944 | Issuer bid. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-03-17 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 28.30 Bid-YTW : 2.28 % |
| BAM.PR.B | Floater | 63,704 | Desjardins crossed 50,000 at 18.90. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2041-03-10 Maturity Price : 18.80 Evaluated at bid price : 18.80 Bid-YTW : 2.82 % |
| BMO.PR.O | FixedReset | 60,180 | RBC crossed 50,000 at 27.60. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-06-24 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 27.70 Bid-YTW : 3.18 % |
| GWO.PR.J | FixedReset | 52,200 | TD crossed blocks of 17,700 and 15,000, both at 27.00. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-01-30 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.76 Bid-YTW : 3.29 % |
| PWF.PR.M | FixedReset | 50,825 | TD bought 24,500 from anonymous at 27.00; Nesbitt crossed 24,200 at the same price. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-03-02 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 27.00 Bid-YTW : 3.38 % |
| There were 42 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares. | |||
| Wide Spread Highlights | ||
| Issue | Index | Quote Data and Yield Notes |
| SLF.PR.D | Deemed-Retractible | Quote: 21.34 – 21.75 Spot Rate : 0.4100 Average : 0.2636 YTW SCENARIO |
| TRI.PR.B | Floater | Quote: 23.01 – 23.99 Spot Rate : 0.9800 Average : 0.8406 YTW SCENARIO |
| PWF.PR.P | FixedReset | Quote: 25.53 – 25.91 Spot Rate : 0.3800 Average : 0.2598 YTW SCENARIO |
| CIU.PR.C | FixedReset | Quote: 25.23 – 25.70 Spot Rate : 0.4700 Average : 0.3568 YTW SCENARIO |
| W.PR.H | Perpetual-Discount | Quote: 24.30 – 24.62 Spot Rate : 0.3200 Average : 0.2124 YTW SCENARIO |
| CM.PR.M | FixedReset | Quote: 27.70 – 27.97 Spot Rate : 0.2700 Average : 0.1977 YTW SCENARIO |