Credit markets
Utilities seek new credit structures
As US utilities bail out of the auction market, they are turning to enhanced credit structures to refinance bond issues. Catherine Lacoursiere reports
Show me the money
Default Modelling
Prime suspect
Knowing the exact quality of the loans in a securitisation pool is key if investor appetite for mortgage securities is to return. Chris Ames, an asset-backed portfolio manager at Schroders, discusses what's prime, what's not, and what has to happen for…
Through the looking glass
ABS Valuations
The great property price panacea
Property Derivatives
Internal affairs
Operating models
Vicious circles
Risk Management
Q&A: Laurent Paulhac & Robin Ross
After the Chicago Mercatile Exchange's recent acquisition of market data provider CMA, Laurent Paulhac of CMA and Robin Ross of CME Group talk about how the CDS market may change in the aftermath of the credit crisis
Lawsuits leave monolines' future in the balance
Two high-profile court cases involving FGIC and XL Capital Assurance could determine the fate of the troubled monoline insurance industry. If the verdicts go against the insurers, the damage would not just be to their reputation, but it would call into…
Market Graphic: Speculative-grade default rates
Although European default rates are still relatively low, Moody's has pushed back, and up, its default rate forecast, says Deutsche Bank Securitization Research
What's it all worth?
When financial markets grind to a halt and liquidity dries up, assessing the value of securities is a notoriously difficult process. Andrew Krull, MD of BlackRock Solutions, talks about how the firm goes about determining fair valuation and appraising…
M&G - Fundamental truths
M&G's steady, conservative investment style during the years leading up to 2007 may have resulted in solid, if unspectacular, returns, but this methodical approach has served the firm well during the credit crisis. Rather like the proverbial tortoise, M…
Ethical investment: Which way is the wind blowing?
For years, ethical investment funds were seen as the preserve of hippies or religious nuts. Now though, increasingly impressive returns have caught the attention of mainstream investors. But have ethical funds gained enough momentum to really change the…
The risk reducers
Profile
Ambiguous about architecture
Markets
The risk reducers
Profile
On thin ice
Counterparty Risk