All I can say is: it’s about time:
The federal government says it is abandoning plans to create a national securities regulator following a stinging courtroom defeat.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on Thursday delivered his most elaborate public reaction since last month’s critical ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada.
Mr. Flaherty told The Canadian Press that he recognizes that the day-to-day regulation of financial markets is a provincial responsibility — as determined by the high court.
Another bank is going to limit cash bonuses for investment bankers:
Bank of America Corp., the U.S. lender seeking to preserve capital, will freeze base salary levels and limit cash bonuses to $150,000 for some investment bankers, said two people with knowledge of the plans.
The cap on cash payments applies to those getting as much as $1 million in total year-end bonuses, with the rest coming in shares of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender, said the people, who asked for anonymity because the matter is private. Employees are being told of their payments today and can sell some of the stock starting on Feb. 15, the people said.
So my question is: when we will see the first public offering underwritten by a hedge fund? A hedge fund based in Singapore? But at the moment, the mood among investment bankers leans to fear more than greed:
In London, with financial sector jobs on the chopping block, bankers lucky enough to have a job are staying put even if they are dismayed when they hear about their bonus.
A new survey of almost 1,400 bankers and fund employees shows that far fewer employees are likely to try to swap jobs if they don’t like their bonuses. The research, done by recruiting firm Astbury Marsden, found that only one-third of workers in London who were surveyed said they would seek a new job. A year ago, the figure was 48 per cent.
They are facing a job market where finding a new spot is tough. According to the firm’s earlier research, competition for roles is rising fast. In 2011, there were 3.16 qualified candidates for financial job in London, up from 2.17 in 2010.
Such figures are likely to embolden bank bosses as they face political and shareholder pressure to cut bonuses. The usual threat of “cut my bonus and I leave” is a lot less threatening in a market where jobs are disappearing.
It was a mixed day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualDiscounts down 21bp, FixedResets gaining 5bp and DeemedRetractibles up 1bp. There was a lengthy list of volatile issues, with a preponderance losers but no clear pattern. 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 | -0.1616 % | 2,357.6 |
| FixedFloater | 4.74 % | 4.11 % | 42,213 | 17.20 | 1 | -1.9071 % | 3,292.7 |
| Floater | 2.83 % | 3.00 % | 64,354 | 19.73 | 3 | -0.1616 % | 2,545.6 |
| OpRet | 4.93 % | 1.78 % | 69,330 | 1.30 | 7 | 0.2848 % | 2,507.4 |
| SplitShare | 5.29 % | -0.28 % | 68,336 | 0.87 | 4 | 0.0400 % | 2,642.4 |
| Interest-Bearing | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.2848 % | 2,292.7 |
| Perpetual-Premium | 5.41 % | -3.97 % | 87,162 | 0.09 | 23 | -0.0228 % | 2,211.7 |
| Perpetual-Discount | 5.02 % | 5.00 % | 180,340 | 15.48 | 7 | -0.2115 % | 2,413.8 |
| FixedReset | 5.03 % | 2.70 % | 213,509 | 2.34 | 65 | 0.0462 % | 2,384.7 |
| Deemed-Retractible | 4.90 % | 3.51 % | 205,061 | 1.69 | 46 | 0.0102 % | 2,307.5 |
| Performance Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Change | Notes |
| CIU.PR.B | FixedReset | -2.13 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-06-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 27.10 Bid-YTW : 3.44 % |
| BAM.PR.G | FixedFloater | -1.91 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-01-26 Maturity Price : 21.37 Evaluated at bid price : 20.06 Bid-YTW : 4.11 % |
| POW.PR.D | Perpetual-Discount | -1.44 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-01-26 Maturity Price : 24.16 Evaluated at bid price : 24.66 Bid-YTW : 5.08 % |
| RY.PR.A | Deemed-Retractible | -1.40 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-05-24 Maturity Price : 25.25 Evaluated at bid price : 25.31 Bid-YTW : 4.16 % |
| NA.PR.M | Deemed-Retractible | -1.33 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-05-15 Maturity Price : 26.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.70 Bid-YTW : 3.40 % |
| BAM.PR.O | OpRet | 1.04 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Option Certainty Maturity Date : 2013-06-30 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.18 Bid-YTW : 1.89 % |
| RY.PR.B | Deemed-Retractible | 1.31 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2012-02-25 Maturity Price : 26.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.30 Bid-YTW : -13.35 % |
| BAM.PR.P | FixedReset | 1.50 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-09-30 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 27.66 Bid-YTW : 3.05 % |
| Volume Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Shares Traded |
Notes |
| GWO.PR.J | FixedReset | 213,900 | Nesbitt crossed 100,000 at 26.80 RBC crossed 112,000 at the same price. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.75 Bid-YTW : 2.50 % |
| CM.PR.I | Deemed-Retractible | 205,252 | Called for redemption. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.75 Evaluated at bid price : 25.99 Bid-YTW : 3.57 % |
| CM.PR.L | FixedReset | 110,149 | Scotia crossed blocks of 15,000 shares, 29,900 and 19,400, all at 27.15. Desjardins crossed 30,000 at the same price; TD crossed 12,600 at the same price again. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-04-30 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 27.15 Bid-YTW : 2.54 % |
| RY.PR.H | Deemed-Retractible | 106,625 | Nesbitt crossed 50,000 at 26.90, then sold 16,400 to TD at the same price. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-05-24 Maturity Price : 26.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.91 Bid-YTW : 2.41 % |
| ENB.PR.D | FixedReset | 83,920 | Nesbitt crossed blocks of 20,000 and 60,000, both at 25.55. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2042-01-26 Maturity Price : 23.28 Evaluated at bid price : 25.57 Bid-YTW : 3.65 % |
| CM.PR.K | FixedReset | 83,339 | Desjardins crossd 29,500 at 26.79; Scotia crossed 20,000 at the same price. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-07-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.69 Bid-YTW : 2.54 % |
| There were 47 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares. | |||
| Wide Spread Highlights | ||
| Issue | Index | Quote Data and Yield Notes |
| CIU.PR.B | FixedReset | Quote: 27.10 – 27.80 Spot Rate : 0.7000 Average : 0.4818 YTW SCENARIO |
| FTS.PR.E | OpRet | Quote: 26.96 – 27.59 Spot Rate : 0.6300 Average : 0.4131 YTW SCENARIO |
| BAM.PR.G | FixedFloater | Quote: 20.06 – 20.49 Spot Rate : 0.4300 Average : 0.2891 YTW SCENARIO |
| NA.PR.O | FixedReset | Quote: 27.34 – 27.69 Spot Rate : 0.3500 Average : 0.2192 YTW SCENARIO |
| NA.PR.M | Deemed-Retractible | Quote: 26.70 – 27.05 Spot Rate : 0.3500 Average : 0.2381 YTW SCENARIO |
| RY.PR.L | FixedReset | Quote: 26.32 – 26.58 Spot Rate : 0.2600 Average : 0.1687 YTW SCENARIO |