We’ll be seeing more of these, I think:
A freight train jumped the tracks in southeastern Saskatchewan Tuesday and spilled more than 91,000 litres of oil.
The accident happened as the Canadian Pacific Rail eastbound train was rolling through an area near the village of Jansen, about 150 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon.
The company said five cars derailed, but only one leaked its contents. A total of 575 barrels hit the ground, said spokesman Ed Greenberg.
A squib in the Globe & Mail brought to my attention a feature of US regulation of which I had been unaware:
Under questioning by a grand jury, Mr. Cohen would probably invoke his right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing lawyers familiar with the case.
If that does occur, it could present a new business challenge for him, said Mr. Stewart of Zuckerman Spaeder. He noted that regulators take a dim view of money managers who exercise their right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment, and have revoked their trading licences in the past.
Typical of government – particularly of modern government. It’s more convenient to provide licenses to do things rather than pass laws prohibiting things … so they go with what’s easy. It reminds me, actually, of some Christian evangelizing I read in my youth, touting the Ten Commandments for being so heavy on the ‘Thou Shalt Not’ side of things.
It’s also typical of governments to recognize individual rights, with ferocious penalties if they are exercised.
Anyway, I found a thoughtful essay titled Averse to Adverse Inferences? Rethinking the Scope Of the Fifth Amendment Protections in SEC Proceedings on the topic which concludes:
The cold reality facing every person caught up in the wide net of securities fraud investigations jointly conducted by SEC and DOJ is that if a criminal charge is successful, an SEC civil charge is routinely successful on a motion for summary judgment based on the conviction at the higher burden of proof and level of intent. Since an adverse inference alone is insufficient to prove a case even by a preponderance of the evidence, drawing the adverse inference may have a very limited impact on an SEC case, while undoubtedly deterring defendants from taking the Fifth. However, the adverse inference for a defendant is a form of burden shifting and a penalty for exercising a constitutional right. Allowing the SEC to continue to draw an adverse inference against individuals who take the Fifth is a deterrent to the exercise of a valid constitutional right. The time has come to rethink whether such a deterrent by a government agency that has concurrent jurisdiction with federal criminal prosecutors is either wise or constitutional.
It was a positive day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums and FixedResets both up 6bp and DeemedRetractibles gaining 3bp. Volatility was low. 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 | -1.2683 % | 2,528.1 |
| FixedFloater | 3.92 % | 3.15 % | 33,528 | 18.77 | 1 | -0.6552 % | 4,195.7 |
| Floater | 2.75 % | 3.00 % | 79,589 | 19.69 | 4 | -1.2683 % | 2,729.7 |
| OpRet | 4.83 % | 0.80 % | 68,737 | 0.11 | 5 | -0.0777 % | 2,610.9 |
| SplitShare | 4.82 % | 4.15 % | 100,362 | 4.08 | 5 | -0.1494 % | 2,976.3 |
| Interest-Bearing | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | -0.0777 % | 2,387.4 |
| Perpetual-Premium | 5.19 % | 3.76 % | 94,957 | 0.76 | 32 | 0.0643 % | 2,381.8 |
| Perpetual-Discount | 4.84 % | 4.88 % | 190,894 | 15.65 | 4 | 0.1115 % | 2,690.5 |
| FixedReset | 4.87 % | 2.70 % | 245,501 | 3.13 | 81 | 0.0554 % | 2,522.0 |
| Deemed-Retractible | 4.87 % | 3.46 % | 134,847 | 0.83 | 44 | 0.0282 % | 2,463.2 |
| Performance Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Change | Notes |
| BAM.PR.K | Floater | -1.85 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2043-05-22 Maturity Price : 17.46 Evaluated at bid price : 17.46 Bid-YTW : 3.03 % |
| BAM.PR.B | Floater | -1.62 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2043-05-22 Maturity Price : 17.65 Evaluated at bid price : 17.65 Bid-YTW : 3.00 % |
| BAM.PR.C | Floater | -1.46 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2043-05-22 Maturity Price : 17.52 Evaluated at bid price : 17.52 Bid-YTW : 3.02 % |
| MFC.PR.F | FixedReset | 1.68 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.45 Bid-YTW : 2.90 % |
| Volume Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Shares Traded |
Notes |
| TRP.PR.A | FixedReset | 149,551 | TD crossed three blocks, 50,000 shares, 28,000 and 25,000, all at 25.48, and sold 10,000 to Nesbitt at the same price. Scotia crossed 10,000 at the same price again. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2043-05-22 Maturity Price : 23.86 Evaluated at bid price : 25.47 Bid-YTW : 3.17 % |
| ENB.PR.F | FixedReset | 66,197 | National crossed 37,000 at 25.74 and 25,000 at 25.73. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2018-06-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.73 Bid-YTW : 3.36 % |
| BAM.PR.K | Floater | 57,802 | TD crossed blocks of 20,000 and 15,000, both at 17.50. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2043-05-22 Maturity Price : 17.46 Evaluated at bid price : 17.46 Bid-YTW : 3.03 % |
| MFC.PR.G | FixedReset | 52,865 | RBC crossed 50,000 at 26.50. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2016-12-19 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.10 Bid-YTW : 3.01 % |
| CU.PR.G | Perpetual-Premium | 42,555 | Recent new issue. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2022-09-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.17 Bid-YTW : 4.45 % |
| RY.PR.P | FixedReset | 32,780 | National crossed 24,700 at 25.70. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-02-24 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.66 Bid-YTW : 2.67 % |
| There were 14 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares. | |||
| Wide Spread Highlights | ||
| Issue | Index | Quote Data and Yield Notes |
| ABK.PR.C | SplitShare | Quote: 31.65 – 32.42 Spot Rate : 0.7700 Average : 0.4779 YTW SCENARIO |
| MFC.PR.G | FixedReset | Quote: 26.10 – 26.53 Spot Rate : 0.4300 Average : 0.3194 YTW SCENARIO |
| VNR.PR.A | FixedReset | Quote: 26.56 – 26.92 Spot Rate : 0.3600 Average : 0.2744 YTW SCENARIO |
| CU.PR.C | FixedReset | Quote: 26.55 – 26.80 Spot Rate : 0.2500 Average : 0.1748 YTW SCENARIO |
| CM.PR.D | Perpetual-Premium | Quote: 25.76 – 26.02 Spot Rate : 0.2600 Average : 0.1863 YTW SCENARIO |
| BNA.PR.E | SplitShare | Quote: 25.60 – 25.98 Spot Rate : 0.3800 Average : 0.3150 YTW SCENARIO |