{"id":1042,"date":"2007-08-07T22:27:18","date_gmt":"2007-08-08T02:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prefblog.com\/?p=1042"},"modified":"2007-08-07T22:27:18","modified_gmt":"2007-08-08T02:27:18","slug":"august-7-2007","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/?p=1042","title":{"rendered":"August 7, 2007"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u00a0was a day of mixed indicators, with frenzied traders choosing random bits of data and making bets on them! <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/apps\/news?pid=20601084&#038;sid=avvjTXR75Tmk&#038;refer=stocks\">US equities rose again<\/a>, continuing a huge rise from yesterday while all sensible people were on holiday, on the very good rationale that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/apps\/news?pid=20601087&#038;sid=aQpGB27zBfSA&#038;refer=home\">the Fed says the economy is growing enough that the main risk is inflation<\/a>. It therefore makes all kinds of sense that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/apps\/news?pid=20601084&#038;sid=aYI6slJAOJj0&#038;refer=stocks\">Canadian equities fell<\/a> on fears that the US Economy is slowing, doesn&#8217;t it? Is the glass half-empty or half-full? I guess it depends how far away you are from the glass.<\/p>\n<p>The US Treasury market <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/apps\/news?pid=20601009&#038;sid=aAlrdZA2mtO4&#038;refer=bond\">did homage to the Fed statement<\/a> as well, falling a bit &#8211; not much &#8211; as traders appeared to take the view that the expected rate cut will take longer to arrive than expected. Torn between the domestic equity market and the Treasury market, <a href=\"http:\/\/ca.news.finance.yahoo.com\/s\/07082007\/6\/finance-canada-dollar-firms-listless-trade-bonds-dip.html\">Canadian bonds declined a bit<\/a>, but nothing to write home about.<\/p>\n<p>The knock-on effects of tighter credit in the wake of the sub-prime frenzy are showing amongst those firms <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/apps\/news?pid=20601109&#038;sid=aHBtJawbNfho&#038;refer=home\">attempting to finance share buy-backs in the bond market<\/a>. Bear Stearns, which has been caught up in this debacle more than it would probably like to, has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thestreet.com\/s\/bear-stearns-cayne-goes-awol\/newsanalysis\/wallstreet\/10372383.html\">indicated it will not be buying back shares<\/a>, has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/apps\/news?pid=20601010&#038;sid=aGBlaoIZQ9Hk&#038;refer=news\">paid up big-time<\/a> to get some five-year money to reduce dependence on the money-market, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/apps\/news?pid=newsarchive&#038;sid=az.c2SSbsv8s\">gotten rid of a high-ranking executive<\/a>. Sounds like they&#8217;re taking things seriously!<\/p>\n<p>The Fed statement today was notable for more than <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/economics\/2007\/08\/07\/economists-react-bernanke-tied-to-the-mast\/\">the usual reasons<\/a>. There was a <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/economics\/2007\/08\/07\/fed-statement-goes-global\/\">rare mention of the global economy<\/a>, and its role in buying American stuff rather than selling cheap stuff to Americans. There is some further comment to the effect that <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/economics\/2007\/08\/07\/fed-may-lose-productivity-ally-in-inflation-fight\/\">American productivity growth is slowing<\/a>. Meanwhile, there are rumblings that <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/economics\/2007\/08\/06\/the-fed-and-the-credit-boom-greenspan-others-reflect\/\">maybe Greenspan should be blamed for sub-prime<\/a> and that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rgemonitor.com\/blog\/setser\/209241\">US officials think the market is always\u00a0perfect<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>All in all, an interesting day!<\/p>\n<p>Not the most active of days in the preferred share market, but at least trading was more inspired than it was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.prefblog.com\/?p=1040\">Friday<\/a>. InterestBearing issues did well and the PerpetualDiscount index continued what has been a fairly steady grind upwards since mid-July.<\/p>\n<p>A number of Pfd-3 and worse issues did horribly, with YPG.PR.B, for instance, hitting a new low. It can only be detected over long periods of time &#8230; but yes, the preferred market does eventually\u00a0 reflect the bond market! YPG.PR.B now yields 6.48% based on a bid of 22.60 and a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.prefshares.com\/glossary.html#softMaturity\">softMaturity<\/a> 2017-6-29 at 25.00 &#8230; not bad! At a conversion factor of 1.4, that&#8217;s equivalent to interest of over 9% &#8230;. but it&#8217;s a Pfd-3(high). Suitable only in very sparing quantities!<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<table border=\"1\">\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"8\"><strong>Note that these indices are experimental; the absolute and relative daily values are expected to change in the final version. In this version, index values are based at 1,000.0 on 2006-6-30<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Index<\/td>\n<td>Mean Current Yield (at bid)<\/td>\n<td>Mean YTW<\/td>\n<td>Mean Average Trading Value<\/td>\n<td>Mean Mod Dur (YTW)<\/td>\n<td>Issues<\/td>\n<td>Day&#8217;s Perf.<\/td>\n<td>Index Value<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Ratchet<\/td>\n<td>4.81%<\/td>\n<td>4.85%<\/td>\n<td>27,128<\/td>\n<td>15.86<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>+0.2482%<\/td>\n<td>1,036.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Fixed-Floater<\/td>\n<td>4.97%<\/td>\n<td>5.01%<\/td>\n<td>129,589<\/td>\n<td>14.17<\/td>\n<td>8<\/td>\n<td>-0.0460%<\/td>\n<td>1,023.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Floater<\/td>\n<td>4.91%<\/td>\n<td>0.39%<\/td>\n<td>72,604<\/td>\n<td>8.06<\/td>\n<td>4<\/td>\n<td>-0.8811%<\/td>\n<td>1,040.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Op. Retract<\/td>\n<td>4.83%<\/td>\n<td>4.04%<\/td>\n<td>82,423<\/td>\n<td>3.32<\/td>\n<td>16<\/td>\n<td>+0.0513%<\/td>\n<td>1,023.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Split-Share<\/td>\n<td>5.03%<\/td>\n<td>4.57%<\/td>\n<td>105,271<\/td>\n<td>3.91<\/td>\n<td>15<\/td>\n<td>-0.1268%<\/td>\n<td>1,047.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Interest Bearing<\/td>\n<td>6.25%<\/td>\n<td>6.70%<\/td>\n<td>62,501<\/td>\n<td>4.63<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<td>+0.7609%<\/td>\n<td>1,032.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Perpetual-Premium<\/td>\n<td>5.52%<\/td>\n<td>5.20%<\/td>\n<td>102,767<\/td>\n<td>5.65<\/td>\n<td>24<\/td>\n<td>-0.0325%<\/td>\n<td>1,024.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Perpetual-Discount<\/td>\n<td>5.08%<\/td>\n<td>5.11%<\/td>\n<td>310,171<\/td>\n<td>15.04<\/td>\n<td>39<\/td>\n<td>+0.0904%<\/td>\n<td>976.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<table border=\"1\">\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\"><strong>Major Price Changes<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Issue<\/td>\n<td>Index<\/td>\n<td>Change<\/td>\n<td>Notes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>BAM.PR.K<\/td>\n<td>FixFloat<\/td>\n<td>-2.8306%<\/td>\n<td>\u00a0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>BSD.PR.A<\/td>\n<td>InterestBearing<\/td>\n<td>+1.0870%<\/td>\n<td>Continuing the recovery from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.prefblog.com\/?p=1036\">Thursday&#8217;s<\/a> loss. Now with a pre-tax bid-YTW of 7.42% based on a bid of 9.30 and a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.prefshares.com\/glossary.html#hardMaturity\">hardMaturity<\/a> 2015-3-31 at 10.00.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>RY.PR.E<\/td>\n<td>PerpetualDiscount<\/td>\n<td>+1.1008%<\/td>\n<td>Now with a pre-tax bid-YTW of 4.91% based on a bid of 22.96 and a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.prefshares.com\/glossary.html#limitMaturity\">limitMaturity<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>FIG.PR.A<\/td>\n<td>InterestBearing<\/td>\n<td>+1.1244%<\/td>\n<td>Now with a pre-tax bid-YTW of 6.56% (as interest) based on a bid of 9.91 and a hardMaturity 2014-12-31 at 10.00.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<table border=\"1\">\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\"><strong>Volume Highlights<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Issue<\/td>\n<td>Index<\/td>\n<td>Volume<\/td>\n<td>Notes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>BMO.PR.I<\/td>\n<td>OpRet<\/td>\n<td>75,550<\/td>\n<td>Scotia crossed 74,200 at 25.00. Now with a pre-tax bid-YTW of 4.07% based on a bid of 25.00 and a call 2007-12-25 (give or take a few days!) at 25.00.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>BAM.PR.H<\/td>\n<td>OpRet<\/td>\n<td>50,691<\/td>\n<td>Desjardins crossed 50,000 at 26.70. Now with a pre-tax bid-YTW of 3.04% based on a bid of 26.69 and a call 2008-10-30 at 25.75. It would appear that there are some who feel the privilege of early call will not be exercised!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>GWO.PR.F<\/td>\n<td>PerpetualPremium<\/td>\n<td>50,570<\/td>\n<td>Desjardins crossed 49,700 at 26.85. Now with a pre-tax bid-YTW of 3.52% based on a bid of 26.83 and a call 2008-10-30 at 26.00. Another bet on call-waiving!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>CM.PR.I<\/td>\n<td>PerpetualDiscount<\/td>\n<td>18,710<\/td>\n<td>Now with a pre-tax bid-YTW of 5.12% based on a bid of 23.11 and a limitMaturity.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>BCE.PR.A<\/td>\n<td>FixFloat<\/td>\n<td>18,298<\/td>\n<td>Scotia bought 10,000 from National Bank at 24.49.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>There were twelve other $25-equivalent index-included issues trading over 10,000 shares today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u00a0was a day of mixed indicators, with frenzied traders choosing random bits of data and making bets on them! US equities rose again, continuing a huge rise from yesterday while all sensible people were on &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-action"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1042\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}