Comrade Peace-Price made the punitive taxation of vilified institutions official:
“My commitment is to recover every single dime the American people are owed,” Obama said in a statement released this morning. “My determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people.”
The levy would be based on bank liabilities and be imposed starting June 30 on companies such as Citigroup Inc., American International Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. The administration estimates it will raise $90 billion over a minimum of 10 years, said an administration official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.
As discussed yesterday, the bulk of TARP costs have been for carmakers and individuals, but since when have facts influenced a demagogue?
The SEC has released a Concept Release on Equity Market Structure:
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) is conducting a broad review of the current equity market structure. The review includes an evaluation of equity market structure performance in recent years and an assessment of whether market structure rules have kept pace with, among other things, changes in trading technology and practices. To help further its review, the Commission is publishing this concept release to invite public comment on a wide range of market structure issues, including high frequency trading, order routing, market data linkages, and undisplayed, or “dark,” liquidity. The Commission intends to use the public’s comments to help determine whether regulatory initiatives to improve the current equity market structure are needed and, if so, the specific nature of such initiatives.
Meanwhile, the Fed has released a Report to Congress on the Case for a Role for the Federal Reserve in Bank Supervision:
Besides the experience at the Federal Reserve, international developments suggest that a central bank role in supervision can be important. For example, many have suggested that the problems with Northern Rock in the United Kingdom were compounded by a lack of clarity regarding the distribution of powers, responsibilities, and information among the Bank of England, the U.K. Financial Services Authority, and the U.K. Treasury. In response, the Bank of England was given statutory responsibilities in the area of financial stability, its powers to collect information from banks were augmented, and many have called for it to be given increased supervisory authority. In the European Union, a new European Systemic Risk Board is being established under which national central banks and the European Central Bank will play a central role in efforts to protect the financial system from systemic risk. More broadly, in most industrial countries today the central bank has substantial bank supervisory authorities, is responsible for broad financial stability, or both.
There was not a lot of price action in the preferred share market today, at it seems to have found some kind of level after the large gains of early January: PerpetualDiscounts were down 8bp, while FixedResets gained 4bp, on reasonable volume. The day was enlivened by the successful launch of BAM.PR.R.
| 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 | 0.5103 % | 1,700.8 |
| FixedFloater | 5.96 % | 4.01 % | 35,621 | 19.01 | 1 | -0.8152 % | 2,653.2 |
| Floater | 2.31 % | 2.65 % | 109,498 | 20.64 | 3 | 0.5103 % | 2,124.7 |
| OpRet | 4.85 % | -0.57 % | 118,176 | 0.09 | 13 | -0.0177 % | 2,317.4 |
| SplitShare | 6.36 % | 0.34 % | 186,248 | 0.08 | 2 | 0.3519 % | 2,113.9 |
| Interest-Bearing | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | -0.0177 % | 2,119.0 |
| Perpetual-Premium | 5.78 % | 5.66 % | 142,923 | 2.26 | 12 | 0.0132 % | 1,898.7 |
| Perpetual-Discount | 5.73 % | 5.75 % | 180,123 | 14.26 | 63 | -0.0821 % | 1,833.4 |
| FixedReset | 5.41 % | 3.59 % | 330,911 | 3.85 | 42 | 0.0374 % | 2,177.3 |
| Performance Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Change | Notes |
| POW.PR.D | Perpetual-Discount | -1.28 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2040-01-14 Maturity Price : 21.61 Evaluated at bid price : 21.61 Bid-YTW : 5.83 % |
| W.PR.H | Perpetual-Discount | -1.11 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2040-01-14 Maturity Price : 22.57 Evaluated at bid price : 23.24 Bid-YTW : 5.92 % |
| RY.PR.P | FixedReset | -1.07 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-03-26 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 27.65 Bid-YTW : 3.77 % |
| BAM.PR.B | Floater | 1.08 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2040-01-14 Maturity Price : 14.91 Evaluated at bid price : 14.91 Bid-YTW : 2.65 % |
| ELF.PR.G | Perpetual-Discount | 1.77 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2040-01-14 Maturity Price : 18.43 Evaluated at bid price : 18.43 Bid-YTW : 6.49 % |
| Volume Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Shares Traded |
Notes |
| BAM.PR.R | FixedReset | 614,165 | New issue settled today. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2040-01-14 Maturity Price : 23.17 Evaluated at bid price : 25.26 Bid-YTW : 4.89 % |
| RY.PR.L | FixedReset | 133,433 | Nesbitt crossed 120,000 at 27.22. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-03-26 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 27.20 Bid-YTW : 3.53 % |
| TD.PR.R | Perpetual-Premium | 74,160 | RBC crossed 72,000 at 24.90. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2040-01-14 Maturity Price : 24.54 Evaluated at bid price : 24.76 Bid-YTW : 5.67 % |
| GWO.PR.J | FixedReset | 72,492 | RBC bought two blocks of 25,000 shares and one of 20,100 shares from anonymous, all at 27.34. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2014-01-30 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 27.31 Bid-YTW : 3.59 % |
| CM.PR.A | OpRet | 56,911 | Desjardins crossed 27,500 at 26.28 and sold 16,500 to Nesbitt at 26.29. I want a commission! YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2010-02-13 Maturity Price : 25.25 Evaluated at bid price : 26.30 Bid-YTW : -42.29 % |
| BNS.PR.P | FixedReset | 45,108 | RBC crossed 24,900 at 26.40. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2013-05-25 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 26.40 Bid-YTW : 3.17 % |
| There were 35 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares. | |||