Investment Dealers' Digest back issues from March 2009:
Seeing; Russia's unpredictable government and economic instability have investors pulling back from the one-time hot spot.(Cover Story)
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Avram Davis In October 2006, Patricia Cloherty, chairman and chief executive officer of Delta Private Equity Partners LLC, spoke at a joint session with students from Columbia Business School and Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. After her ...
Taking A Gamble; Former head of global gaming I-banking at Credit Suisse goes solo with new boutique.(Investment Banking)(Regal Capital Advisors)(David Berman)
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Joshua Hamerman After two-and-a-half years at Credit Suisse, the firm's head of global gaming investment banking, David Berman, and two colleagues decided to take a gamble of their own: launching their own shop. In early December, Berman, Charles Protell and ...
Tsk-Tsk.(Editor's Letter)(Column)
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Tom Granqahan In a week that saw the US citizenry declare that it's got more love for Barack Obama than Jesus Christ himself (or herself), an even more remarkable event took place: John Kerry and his buddies dragged DC, and our recovery efforts, even lower. ...
Large Bank Pain, Small Firm Gain; Mid-market firms trying to build up leveraged finance groups find the pickings are good.(Leveraged Finance)
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Matthew Sheahan A sea change is stirring in the sales and trading world of leveraged finance. The shakeout at the large banks has been countered by high-yield debt and distressed groups forming or expanding at smaller firms. And these firms will grab a larger share of ...
Limited Engagement; MBS market sees improved liquidity, but the number of investors actively participating has been thinned out.(Credit Market)(mortgage- backed securities)
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Aleksandrs Rozens Conditions in the US mortgage- backed securities market-the world's largest credit market and a key to reinvigorating the US housing market-have improved, but the market still has a ways to go before it regains its pre-financial-crisis vigor. ...
UBS Appoints New CEO again and former banker there starts a new firm, plus other personnel moves.(Personnel File)(briefs)(Oswald Gruebel)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: Editorial Staff UBS announced last Thursday that Oswald GrA1/4bel was tapped as its new group chief executive, effective immediately. He replaced Marcel Rohner, who resigned. GrA1/4bel spent almost 40 years at another Swiss bank, Credit Suisse, where he was ...
PE Firms Face Specter Of Tax Hike; New budget proposal is expected to hit PE funds through an increase in capital-gains tax rates.(Private Equity)(Private equity funds)
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Kelly Holman Private equity's tax reprieve is over. With the release of President Barack Obama's budget proposal last week, the break private equity firms enjoyed last year from paying an increased tax rate on long-term capital gains is about to expire. ...
Where Hedge Funds Were Selling.(Week On The Street)(Brief article)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: Editorial Staff Citigroup offered research last week saying that smaller and mid-cap stocks took the brunt of hedge fund selling in the second half of last year, though alternative asset managers continue to be more deeply positioned in both than they are in large-cap ...
Lehman Spins Out VC Arm.(Week On The Street)(Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.)(HarbourVest Partners L.L.C.)(venture capital unit)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: Editorial Staff Lehman Brothers said last Tuesday that it has spun out its venture capital unit in a deal involving HarbourVest Partners. Although transaction terms weren't disclosed, the management team of Lehman Brothers Venture Partners retained majority ...
Merrill Loss Exceeds BofA's Forecast.(Week On The Street)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: Editorial Staff Merrill Lynch reported a fourth-quarter loss 3.5% higher than what Bank of America had projected last month. The New York investment bank, which BofA bought on Jan. 1, lost $15.8 billion, according to its annual filing with the Securities and ...
Moody's Changes Rating Methodology.(Week On The Street)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: Editorial Staff Moody's Investors Service has tweaked the way it devises its financial strength rating to gauge if banks will need a bailout. The bank financial strength rating-which assesses the probability that an institution will need external help-now puts ...
Treasury Details Terms For New Cash Infusions.(Week On The Street)(Brief article)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: Editorial Staff The Treasury Department released the terms and conditions of its revamped Capital Assistance Program, which has invested some $200 billion into 400 banks. Future investments will take the form of preferred securities that can be converted into ...
(Reverse) Breaking Up Is Easy To Do; Long a mainstay in LBOs, reverse breakup fees increasingly find their way into corporate deals.(M&A)(leveraged buy-out)
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Avram Davis Reverse break-up fees are increasingly making their way into merger agreements, largely in response to the wave of failed deals last year. Traditionally, reverse breakup fees have been part of LBO purchase agreements, but they are appearing in more M&A ...
SEC Muni Chief: More Disclosure; Focuses on Short-Term IDB Conduits.(Washington)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Andrew Ackerman ORLANDO - The Securities and Exchange Commission's municipal securities chief urged bond attorneys meeting here yesterday to disclose more information about the underlying borrower in certain conduit deals that are sold with short-term interest rates. ...
Munis Stand Pat, Ending Run of Weakness.(Market News)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Michael Scarchilli Municipals yesterday ended an 11-session string of weakness that began last month, while new issues led with a $457.9 million revenue bond sale by the California State University Trustees. Munis ended unchanged while traders said the tone of ...
Treasury Lends a Hand; Guidance on BABs, Tax-Credit Bonds Within 30 Days.(Washington)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Peter Schroeder ORLANDO - The Treasury Department is hoping to release guidance within the next 30 days on how the direct payment option of the Build America Bonds program will work, as well as the amount of tax-credit bonds that each state will be able to issue under ...
In Brief.(Market News)(Labor Costs )(Financial report)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Gary E. Siegel, Market News International 4Q Productivity Down 0.4%; Labor Costs Increase 5.7% U.S. nonfarm unit productivity fell at a 0.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter, off from the 3.2% growth estimates in the preliminary reading and from 1.5% growth ...
Stimulus Should Boost West Coast IDBs.(Market News)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Rich Saskal SAN FRANCISCO - Some provisions in the federal stimulus bill should broaden the base of eligible users of industrial development bonds and private facility bonds in a way that should particularly benefit West Coast states, say some participants in those ...
Fewer Smokers Bad News for Tobacco Debt.(Market News)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Dan Seymour The investment case for tobacco bonds is that smokers are so hopelessly addicted they will continue buying cigarettes no matter what. Dick Larkin knows first-hand this is not so. The director of credit analysis at Herbert J. Sims & Co. in the last ...
(Small) Size Is Everything; With their larger peers reeling, midmarket investment banks with scale find themselves in a position to buy.(M & A)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Avram Davis If an investment banker were advising a client today, especially in the financial services sector, he or she might very well counsel against a sale, at least until business conditions perk up. So why are so many boutique investment banks putting themselves on ...
The Street's downsizing; As the government increasingly works its way into our large financial institutions, employees work their way out.(Cover Story)
Mar 06, 2009 ... Byline: Aleksandrs Rozens "It seemed more likely during the first quarter-century to earn a place in history by being one of the first banks in New York to fail. The merchants who directed the bank subordinated its welfare to their own, using it to finance their own firms. This ...
Our Next Chapter.(Editor's Note)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Tom Granahan Welcome to the new Investment Dealers' Digest. Whether you're a long-time subscriber, a past reader coming back for the first time in years or a complete newcomer, we think you will find a lot to like about our robust new format - the most dramatic changes ...
In Hindsight.(In Hindsight)
Mar 06, 2009 ... Byline: Editorial Staff CARLYLE GROUP CLOSES DEBT FUND Carlyle Group said it has closed its second subordinated debt fund at $553 million. The investors in the Washington private equity firm's new debt vehicle were not disclosed. James Shevlet Jr., co-head ...
Trillions Later, It Still Isn't Working; The former head of the FDIC says we've misdiagnosed the disease that's afflicting our financial markets.(Commentary)(Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)(Viewpoint essay)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: William Isaac Congress was badly divided last September on the Treasury bailout plan to purchase $700 billion in troubled assets from banks, and rightly so. Some six months and trillions of dollars later, our attempts to stabilize the financial system and stimulate the ...
'How're We Doing?' Well, Not So Great.(Q&A)(dialogue with Edward I. Koch)(Interview)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Aleksandrs Rozens Edward I. Koch, the former mayor of New York City, still keeps busy these days at the age of 84: he regularly pens a political column and movie reviews, and does a radio show in New York. The popular politician, well known for his 'How'm I doing?' ...
Looking Ahead.(Looking Ahead)
Mar 06, 2009 ... Byline: Editorial Staff Monday 3/9 There will be no shortage of bankruptcy action this week. Star Tribune Holdings, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January because of a drop in advertising and a heavy debt burden, will ask a judge to authorize use of cash ...
A Stimulus For Private Equity? New tax law could help stave off painful restructurings, or worse.(Private Equity)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Kelly Holman A provision in President Obama's stimulus plan, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, could well prove to be the buyout industry's tool du jour to stave off bankruptcy proceedings or restructurings of their troubled portfolio companies. The tax ...
Kurer Out As UBS Chairman; Addition of former finance minister is latest shakeup for bank.(Personnel File)(briefs)
Mar 06, 2009 ... Byline: Editorial Staff LESS THAN SIX MONTHS AFTER THE government installed him as Freddie Mac's chief executive, the government-sponsored enterprise said David Moffettintends to resign by March 13. The resignation comes ahead of what is expected to be a ...
Quoted; Notable, Quotable, heard around town.(Quoted)
Mar 06, 2009 ... Byline: Editorial Staff DICK BOVE VP, EQUITY RESEARCH, ROCHDALE SECURITIES "In one ill-considered step, the Treasury attacked the wealth of the nation and beggared many of its citizens. The panic at the Treasury is making a bad situation worse, and ...
RBS Ship Hasn't Sunk; Despite disclosing the biggest loss in British corporate history, and its ex-CEO's pension scrutiny, RBS plans to restructure and refocus.(Investment Banking)(Company overview)(Financial report)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Joshua Hamerman Royal Bank of Scotland made history on Feb. 26 when it reported the largest annual loss in British corporate history, and its former chief executive, SirFred Goodwin, is at the center of a very public debate across the pond regarding his A[pounds ...
Secondary Slowdown? This corner of the PE market was expected to be brisk in 2009, but for now it remains in limbo.(Private Equity)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Kelly Holman When Harvard University's investment management firm explored the sale of $1.5 billion in investor commitments last fall, it looked as if the floodgates on the secondary private equity market would swing open. But as the value of buyout fund investments has ...
Corzine Weighs in On Crisis.(Politics)(Interview)
Mar 06, 2009; ... Byline: Michelle Kaske Before his tenure in politics, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine spent 24 years at Goldman, Sachs & Co., eventually working his way up to chief executive officer and steering the company from a private firm to a publicly traded corporation. He then ...
A Muni Bill in Progress; Could Be Ready By the Spring.(News)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Andrew Ackerman WASHINGTON - The House Financial Services Committee's staff is drafting a three-pronged bill that would authorize federal guarantees for new muni general obligation debt, create a reinsurance program that could bolster monoline bond insurers underwriting ...
Yields Rise This Week Amid Hefty Primary.(News)(bond prices reports)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Michael Scarchilli Nearly all The Bond Buyer's weekly yield indexes rose this week, as the municipal market dealt with a sizeable slate of primary market issuance, and bond prices cheapened slightly throughout the week. Michael Pietronico, chief executive ...
Steady Stream of New Issues Continues.(Market News)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Michael Scarchilli The steady flow of supply in the new-issue market continued yesterday, as the University of California Regents priced another of the week's largest transactions with nearly $800 million of bonds, as secondary market trading was light and yields were ...
In Brief.(Market News)(unemployment forecasted)(retail sales growth)(business inventories declines)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Market News International, Gary E. Siegel Jobless Claims Up 9,000 To 645,000 in March 7 Week Initial claims for state unemployment rose 9,000 in the week of March 7 to 654,000 after adjustment, well above even the top of the range of expectations - but without ...
S&P: Cities Making Progress on OPEBs.(News)(retirement benefits)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Lynne Funk WASHINGTON - The nation's 10 largest cities are making some progress managing billions of dollars of unfunded liabilities for health care and non-pension other post-employment benefits, and could decide to issue OPEB bonds, similar to pension obligation bonds, ...
Port of Oakland's 50-Year P3 Deal; Concessionaire to Pay Rent, Fund Improvements in Infrastructure.(News)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Rich Saskal SAN FRANCISCO - In what participants say is a groundbreaking deal, the Port of Oakland has agreed to a 50-year concession for five of its container-ship berths, with an option for two more. Officials of the port and the concession winner, Ports ...
Fabian's Indicator: Eye High-Grade 5-Years.(News)(Survey)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Dan Seymour When institutional investors and price-evaluation services disagree, bet on the institutional investors. That is the strategy Matt Fabian, managing director of Municipal Market Advisors, urges clients to take. Based on this advice, he said ...
Expropriation Lives; Far from running its course, nationalization is back in Venezuela with the recent takeover of a U.S. food company.(Commentary)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Preston Keat Venezuelan President Hugo ChA vez has always stirred Latin American resentment against Washington to bolster his popularity. In the name of resistance to "imperialism," in 2004 he began to demand that U.S. and other foreign oil companies pay higher taxes and ...
Fighting Back.(Editor's Note)(united states recessions )(Editorial)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Tom Granahan, Editor If reasonable people can agree that we have passed the baton from outright fear and panic about a systemic collapse of our financial system to old-fashioned concern about a deep recession (is that too much to ask?), then this week saw some meaningful ...
Chris Flowers Talks PE, The Bailout And Recovery; The government has made its share of mistakes, but "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater," the dealmaker says.(Q&A)(Interview)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Julie Rogers J.C. Flowers & Co. is the largest U.S. private equity firm concentrating solely on the financialservices sector, yet has ridden out the turmoil in the financial markets in relatively good shape. The firm stands ready for substantial new investments in Asia, ...
The Hedge Fund World's Most Wanted; Madoff's guilty plea ends one chapter of the sordid story playing out in hedge funds, but there's more where that came from.(Hedge Funds)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Gerelyn Terzo Bernard Madoff, the shamed investment adviser who cost investors billions, pleaded guilty to numerous crimes Thursday at a hearing in federal court in New York, perhaps marking the beginning of some sense of justice for the victims. However, as ...
In Hindsight.(In Hindsight)(Citigroup Inc.)(mergers between JPMorgan Chase & Co. and BarclaysAmerican Corp.)
Mar 13, 2009 ... SIGNS OF LIFE FROM CITI? Shares of Citigroup surged 25% Tuesday and helped the broader stock market rally after the beleaguered bank said its year-to-date performance has been strong. In a letter to employees, chief executive officer Vikram Pandit said he was ...
Occupational Hazard; Despite the important role they play in keeping the global economy humming, investment bankers just can't catch a break.
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Joshua Hamerman When Tim Skeet was having his passport checked upon arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport several weeks ago, he was asked what he did for a living. He told the airport official he worked in the fixed-income division of a large investment bank, ...
Looking Ahead.
Mar 13, 2009 ... Monday 3/16 Market players will get to see how home builders feel amid the housing downturn, and if activity picked up at all in March. when the National Association of Home Builders publishes its monthly index for March. The NAHB index was in the single digits for the fourth ...
Weiss To Lead M&A At Lazard; Dealmaker had a hand in some of the bank's largest transactions.(Personnel File)(Antonio Weiss)
Mar 13, 2009 ... L azard named Antonio Weiss as global head of mergers and acquisitions. Weiss joined Lazard in 1993 and became a managing director in 1999. Since 2006 he has served as a vice chairman of European investment banking. Weiss has advised on transactions for clients such as ...
More Than A Hedge Fund; ICP Capital hopes to expand beyond its asset management roots into merchant banking business.(Investment Banking)
Mar 13, 2009 ... Byline: Aleksandrs Rozens Tom Priore realized early in his career on Wall Street that there was a different way to do things. A salesman for PaineWebber, bought by UBS in 2000, he was active in the securitization market and his employer at the time was a leading participant in ...
Quoted; Notable, quotable, heard around town.(Quoted)
Mar 13, 2009 ... ALAN GREENSPAN FORMER FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN "The solutions for the financial-market failures revealed by the crisis are higher capital requirements and a wider prosecution of fraud, not increased micromanagement by government entities." - The Wall Street Journal ...
Standard Chartered Eyes U.S. Growth; U.K. giant to bulk up in M&A, forex.(Global Investing)(mergers and acquisitions)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Aleksandrs Rozens Standard Chartered wants to expand in U.S. and Latin American corporate finance - specifically mergers and acquisitions - as well as in markets such as foreign exchange, interest rates and commodities. Executives at the U.K. banking giantsay ...
Vino Draws PE Play; Some PE firms have bet on the wine business in the last couple years, but will their investments yield profit or sour grapes?(Private Equity)
Mar 13, 2009; ... Byline: Kelly Holman A glass of vin de pays might suffice for a steak frites dinner, but it's the wineries snaking across the rolling hills of Sonoma County that have private equity financiers salivating. Whether the gamble on West Coast vintners will ultimately pay off remains ...
California Bringing $4B story; Big Deal Follows Dual Downgrades.(News)
Mar 20, 2009 ... Byline: Rich Saskal SAN FRANCISCO - California will bring the largest municipal bond issue since 2007 to market next week with across-the-board single-A ratings, following dual downgrades yesterday from Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service. Fitch and Moody's ...
Federal Reserve Plan Sparks Drops in Weekly Yields.(News)
Mar 20, 2009; ... Byline: Dan Seymour The Bond Buyer's weekly yield indexes mostly fell this week as the Federal Reserve's plan to support credit markets by buying Treasuries sparked a rally in state and local government debt. This week's indexes cover a stark about-face in munis ....
Louisiana Commission Extends Time for Road Bonds.(Market News)(Louisiana State Bond Commission)
Mar 20, 2009; ... Byline: Jim Watts DALLAS - The Louisiana State Bond Commission yesterday approved the sale of up to $685 million of gasoline tax bonds as the state tries to negotiate lower swap-termination fees before the bonds go to market. Proceeds from the bonds would finance the ...
Munis in Mighty Rally, Following Fed.(municipal bonds)
Mar 20, 2009; ... Byline: Dan Seymour Municipal bonds staged a mighty rally yesterday in belated response to the Federal Reserve's announcement it will buy Treasury bonds to support credit markets. Traders said yields plunged about 15 basis points following a five-point dip yesterday ....
In Brief.
Mar 20, 2009; ... Byline: Market News International, Gary E. Siegel Jobless Claims Dip 12,000 To 646,000 in Mar. 14 Week Initial claims for state unemployment fell 12,000 in the March 14 week to 646,000 after adjustment, below analysts' expectations, the Labor Department reported ...
Vallejo Ruling May Be a Model; Bankruptcy Could Void Labor Pacts.
Mar 20, 2009; ... Byline: Andrew Ward SAN FRANCISCO - Experts say a federal court ruling that may allow Vallejo, Calif., to escape its labor contracts could make bankruptcy a much more tempting option for municipalities and is likely to be upheld by higher courts. U.S. Bankruptcy ...
Wisconsin Sees Strong Demand for $1.5B.
Mar 20, 2009 ... Byline: Christine Albano and Yvette Shields CHICAGO - After a two-day retail order period, Wisconsin offered up its $1.5 billion appropriation-backed issue to institutional investors yesterday, drawing such strong interest from buyers buoyed by the Federal Reserve's plans to buy ...
PE, Hedge Funds to the Rescue? Regulators are trying to entice private capital into the financial services sector, but investors need to tread carefully.(private equity)
Mar 20, 2009; ... Byline: Charles Dropkin and Joshua Thompson Financial markets are in turmoil, as major banking institutions continue to fail or are propped up by the government. Private-equity and hedge funds have emerged as prime sources of potential liquidity, and to recapitalize the ...
Members Only: PERevisits 'Clubbing'; Private equity firms are looking to join together to overcome the lack of credit available for leveraged buyouts.(Private Equity)
Mar 20, 2009 ... Byline: Kelly Holman The traditional leveraged buyout model known as "clubbing," where two or more financial sponsors join together in a consortium to execute deals, is beginning to resurface in the post-credit crunch world. The dearth of leverage has of course left ...
Looking Out For Debt Exchange Offers; Far from "out of the blue" developments, there are clues to look for when trying to identify, and profit from, the growing phenomenon.
Mar 20, 2009; ... Byline: Adam B. Cohen Analyzing the potential fordebt exchange offers involves complex legal documents and principles that most investors naturally run away from. That presents a fine context in which other investors can find value. Deeply distressed trading levels, ...
Handle with Care; Doing lift-outs can be tricky, especially if banks don't follow proper procedures.
Mar 20, 2009 ... Byline: Joshua Hamerman The current recruitment environment for individual bankers, as well as whole teams, is one of the best Wall Street has ever known. However, with abundance comes responsibility, and when performing lift-outs, hiring institutions have to be extremely ...
The Hedge Fund Culture Clash; M&A in the hedge fund industry may be on the rise, but as with larger financial-services unions, culture can make or break a deal.
Mar 20, 2009; ... Byline: Gerelyn Terzo Mohammed Syed, the founder and chief executive of Axiom Fund Manager, a U.K. hedge fund and hedge fund of funds firm, wants to grow his 10-person firm through the acquisition of at least one other hedge fund. He better be careful. ...
Roll-UpsDIP Their Toes; Lyondell Chemical's $8 billion debtor-in-possession facility is likely to spur other innovative bankruptcy debt packages.(Restructuring)
Mar 20, 2009 ... Byline: Kelly Holman A U.S. bankruptcy court's approval of Lyondell Chemical Co.'s $8 billion debtor-in-possession facility late last month produced more than just a record-size bankruptcy debt package. The DIP, which included the participation of several private-equity and ...
In Defense of AIG.(American International Group Inc.)
Mar 20, 2009 ... Byline: Tom Granahan, Editor Kidding about the headline, of course. Just wanted to get your attention. There is no defense for what AIG did in meting out bonuses, or for the behavior of our political leaders at the bonus hearings this week. Yes, we all know the pols are squeaky ...