Plummeting bonds reflect souring UK mood for outsourcing and privatisation

20 June 2024Credithigh yield bonds, outsourcing, privatisation, utilitiesNick Dunbar

Bonds issued by Atos and Thames Water are trading at distressed levels as investors prepare for a changed climate after the UK election

The rise of the leveraged brokers

24 April 2024Insurancehigh yield bonds, insurance brokers, M&A, mergers & acquisitionsNick Dunbar

Private equity has come to dominate capital markets by means of debt-fuelled acquisitions. As a case study, we explore junk-rated insurance brokers using the Risky Finance corporate bond tool

Tales from the junk bond boom

12 October 2021Credithigh yield bondsNick Dunbar

One in two corporate bonds issued this year have been high yield, after redemptions are taken into account. Who are the winners and losers so far?

Playing chicken in the high yield market

19 October 2020Creditbankruptcy, corporate bonds, high yield bonds, restructuringNick Dunbar

In 2020, junk bondholders have to choose between painful restructuring and pushing for a repayment that might kill a company

How Covid-19 infected the corporate bond market

20 March 2020Creditairlines, central banks, coronavirus, Covid-19, high yield bondsNick Dunbar

The coronavirus outbreak has infected the corporate bond market as economies grind to a halt. Can trillions of emergency central bank measures keep borrowers alive?

ETFs, capital arbitrage and Morgan Stanley

22 January 2017Banksderivative assets, exchange-traded funds, high yield bonds, incremental risk charge, Market RWAs, Morgan Stanley, securities financingNick Dunbar

After making dramatic cuts to its balance sheet and capital requirements, Morgan Stanley is boosting returns in fixed income. Is the bank using bond ETFs for regulatory capital arbitrage?