{"id":21747,"date":"2013-04-17T00:56:46","date_gmt":"2013-04-17T04:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prefblog.com\/?p=21747"},"modified":"2013-04-17T00:56:46","modified_gmt":"2013-04-17T04:56:46","slug":"april-16-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/?p=21747","title":{"rendered":"April 16, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regulatory extortion is still being pondered<\/a>:<\/p>\n

SAC Capital Advisors LP\u2019s record $602 million insider trading settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was approved by a federal judge, who conditioned his ruling on a future appeals court decision in an SEC settlement with Citigroup Inc. (C)<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan approved the settlement, while saying it remains subject to a ruling by the U.S Court of Appeals in New York in the Citigroup case on whether defendants in SEC cases may be permitted to neither admit nor deny fault in such agreements. Marrero expressed concern about such a provision in the SAC settlement in a hearing on March 28. Marrero\u2019s ruling, which was made public today, is dated yesterday.<\/p>\n

In the Citigroup case, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan criticized the SEC\u2019s policy of allowing defendants to resolve the agency\u2019s allegations without admitting wrongdoing, ruling that Citigroup\u2019s $285 million SEC settlement couldn\u2019t go forward because the deal wasn\u2019t in the public interest. The appeals court heard arguments in the case in February. The court hasn\u2019t said when it will rule.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar is one of the supporters of extra-judicial sentencing<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I must also say that I am disappointed in the Commission\u2019s apparent lack of urgency in implementing the Dodd-Frank Act\u2019s mandate to prevent crooks and so-called \u201cbad actors\u201d from utilizing Rule 506 (the \u201cBad Actor Rule\u201d). It does not seem controversial for the Commission to prevent felons and other law-breakers from pitching private investment deals to investors. However, it has been almost two years since the Commission\u2019s proposal to disqualify \u201cbad actors\u201d from 506 offerings, and the Commission has yet to adopt the Bad Actor Rule. I agree with U.S. House Financial Services Ranking Democrat Maxine Waters when she said:<\/p>\n

[t]he Commission should work swiftly to impose the \u201cbad actor\u201d disqualification before expanding the availability of general solicitation and advertising, particularly since Congress directed the Commission to institute this disqualification provision nearly two years before the JOBS Act.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The adoption of a disqualification provision would provide much needed investor protection and would not be detrimental to legitimate issuers. The continuing delay only hurts investors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If it is the intent of Congress to include lifetime prohibitions from certain activities as part of criminal sentencing, discretion to do so should be in the hands of the judge at trial – not of Aguilar’s beloved bureaucrats.<\/p>\n

Talisman, proud issuer of TLM.PR.A, was confirmed at Pfd-3(high) by DBRS<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The Company\u2019s operating cash flow for the year was affected by its exposure to weak natural gas pricing, along with a reduction in liquids production due to maintenance activities in the North Sea. This resulted in a free cash flow deficit, despite decreased capital spending (capex) of $3.7 billion in 2012 versus $4.3 billion in 2011. The Company used proceeds of asset sales (including the sale of 49% of its U.K. business to Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Co. (Sinopec); refer to Transactions on page 11) to fund the deficit, along with reducing short-term debt, which resulted in adjusted leverage lowering to 35.6% in 2012 (from 40.2% in 2011). DBRS anticipates future free-cash flow deficits to be funded with proceeds of asset sales\/joint ventures.
…<\/b>
Talisman has indicated that its key priorities are (1) to live within its means through reducing capex to levels within internally generated cash flow, (2) to focus capex on higher-value projects that can come onstream more quickly, (3) to focus on building and strengthening two core regions (the Americas and Southeast Asia) and (4) improving operational performance and reduce cost structure. DBRS notes that successful implementation of these priorities will support the rating of Talisman, however it remains to be seen if the Company will be able to realize the benefits of this shift in strategic focus. An inability to successfully implement its strategic plans could result in further pressure on its financial profile. DBRS would view adjusted leverage approaching 40% to be aggressive for the current rating category, which could result in negative rating action.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Emera, proud issuer of EMA.PR.A and EMA.PR.C, was confirmed by DBRS at Pfd-3(high)<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The Company\u2019s business risk profile is viewed as good, as Emera\u2019s earnings and cash flow are largely generated by its relatively low-risk regulated subsidiaries (regulated subsidiaries accounted for over 90% of consolidated net income in 2012). Over the medium to long term, Emera\u2019s regulated earnings and cash flow are expected to grow significantly once the Maritime Link is completed (pending approval from the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board).
…<\/b>
Emera is currently on track to deleverage its non-consolidated balance sheet as reflected by (1) a $250 million preferred shares offering in June 2012 and (2) an equity offering of approximately $200 million in December 2012. The Company\u2019s non-consolidated debt-to-capital ratio was 34.2% as of December 31, 2012, versus its peak of 41.5% in Q2 2012. Going forward, DBRS expects Emera to fund significant unforeseen costs or cash shortfalls (including potential cost overruns associated with the Maritime Link) with equity (including preferred shares and dividend re-investment proceeds) and to continue to deleverage its non-consolidated balance sheet to a level that is commensurate with the current BBB (high) rating.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It was a fine day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums winning 13bp, FixedResets up 9bp and DeemedRetractibles gaining 8bp. There was no volatility. None. Volume was quite low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices<\/strong>
Values are provisional and are finalized monthly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Index<\/td>\nMean
Current
Yield
(at bid)<\/td>\n		Median
YTW<\/td>\n		Median
Average
Trading
Value<\/td>\n		Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)<\/td>\n		Issues<\/td>\nDay’s Perf.<\/td>\nIndex Value<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ratchet<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n-0.0254 %<\/td>\n2,606.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FixedFloater<\/td>\n4.05 %<\/td>\n3.36 %<\/td>\n32,866<\/td>\n18.67<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n0.0000 %<\/td>\n4,055.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Floater<\/td>\n2.67 %<\/td>\n2.88 %<\/td>\n88,494<\/td>\n20.04<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n-0.0254 %<\/td>\n2,813.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OpRet<\/td>\n4.79 %<\/td>\n-0.04 %<\/td>\n53,262<\/td>\n0.18<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n0.1158 %<\/td>\n2,614.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SplitShare<\/td>\n4.81 %<\/td>\n4.02 %<\/td>\n132,211<\/td>\n4.13<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n-0.0241 %<\/td>\n2,957.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Interest-Bearing<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0.00 %<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.1158 %<\/td>\n2,390.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perpetual-Premium<\/td>\n5.18 %<\/td>\n2.96 %<\/td>\n82,988<\/td>\n0.53<\/td>\n32<\/td>\n0.1307 %<\/td>\n2,383.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perpetual-Discount<\/td>\n4.83 %<\/td>\n4.83 %<\/td>\n178,165<\/td>\n15.74<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n0.1622 %<\/td>\n2,693.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FixedReset<\/td>\n4.92 %<\/td>\n2.78 %<\/td>\n244,933<\/td>\n3.43<\/td>\n80<\/td>\n0.0851 %<\/td>\n2,508.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Deemed-Retractible<\/td>\n4.86 %<\/td>\n3.45 %<\/td>\n125,779<\/td>\n0.69<\/td>\n44<\/td>\n0.0845 %<\/td>\n2,458.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
Performance Highlights<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Issue<\/td>\nIndex<\/td>\nChange<\/td>\nNotes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No individual gains or losses exceeding 1%!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Volume Highlights<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Issue<\/td>\nIndex<\/td>\nShares
Traded<\/td>\n		Notes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
IFC.PR.C<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n122,880<\/td>\nScotia crossed 50,000 at 26.00; National crossed 67,300 at the same price.
\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2016-09-30
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.99
\nBid-YTW : 3.06 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ENB.PR.B<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n105,479<\/td>\nNesbitt crossed 90,100 at 25.89.
\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2017-06-01
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.86
\nBid-YTW : 3.25 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ENB.PR.P<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n105,435<\/td>\nDesjardins crossed 100,000 at 25.86.
\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2019-03-01
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.83
\nBid-YTW : 3.48 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PWF.PR.S<\/td>\nPerpetual-Premium<\/td>\n84,566<\/td>\nScotia crossed 75,000 at 25.45.
\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2022-04-30
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.36
\nBid-YTW : 4.60 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SLF.PR.H<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n52,112<\/td>\nScotia bought blocks of 15,000 and 19,500 from Nesbitt at 25.70, then another 10,000 from TD at the same price.
\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2016-09-30
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.67
\nBid-YTW : 3.14 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BNS.PR.Q<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\n32,460<\/td>\nNational crossed 20,000 at 24.85.
\nYTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Hard Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2022-01-31
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.80
\nBid-YTW : 3.02 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
There were 20 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Wide Spread Highlights<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Issue<\/td>\nIndex<\/td>\nQuote Data and Yield Notes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TRI.PR.B<\/td>\nFloater<\/td>\nQuote: 24.14 – 24.55
\nSpot Rate : 0.4100
\nAverage : 0.2954<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2043-04-16
\nMaturity Price : 23.89
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.14
\nBid-YTW : 2.16 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

ELF.PR.H<\/td>\nPerpetual-Premium<\/td>\nQuote: 26.38 – 26.65
\nSpot Rate : 0.2700
\nAverage : 0.1574<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2021-04-17
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 26.38
\nBid-YTW : 4.69 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

FTS.PR.H<\/td>\nFixedReset<\/td>\nQuote: 25.36 – 25.70
\nSpot Rate : 0.3400
\nAverage : 0.2365<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Limit Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2043-04-16
\nMaturity Price : 23.68
\nEvaluated at bid price : 25.36
\nBid-YTW : 2.60 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

ABK.PR.C<\/td>\nSplitShare<\/td>\nQuote: 32.11 – 32.42
\nSpot Rate : 0.3100
\nAverage : 0.2502<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2014-03-10
\nMaturity Price : 31.64
\nEvaluated at bid price : 32.11
\nBid-YTW : 2.77 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

MFC.PR.B<\/td>\nDeemed-Retractible<\/td>\nQuote: 24.94 – 25.15
\nSpot Rate : 0.2100
\nAverage : 0.1521<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Hard Maturity
\nMaturity Date\t: 2025-01-31
\nMaturity Price : 25.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 24.94
\nBid-YTW : 4.74 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

IAG.PR.E<\/td>\nDeemed-Retractible<\/td>\nQuote: 26.91 – 27.10
\nSpot Rate : 0.1900
\nAverage : 0.1395<\/p>\n

YTW SCENARIO
\nMaturity Type : Call
\nMaturity Date\t: 2014-12-31
\nMaturity Price : 26.00
\nEvaluated at bid price : 26.91
\nBid-YTW : 3.82 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Regulatory extortion is still being pondered: SAC Capital Advisors LP\u2019s record $602 million insider trading settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was approved by a federal judge, who conditioned his ruling on a …<\/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-21747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-action"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21747","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=21747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21747\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prefblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}