Structured products
Happier times for distressed assets?
The distressed assets sitting on the balance sheets of financial institutions have increased in value in recent months, with a variety of firms reporting paper gains. Has the turning point been reached in distressed structured credit assets? Peter…
Reconsidering the fixed-floating mix
Yield curves for sterling, the euro and the dollar are the steepest they have been for well over a decade, leaving companies with outstanding fixed-rate debt and large amounts of cash on balance sheets facing significant negative carry. Many corporates…
Mastering sharia
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association and the International Islamic Financial Market published the long-awaited Islamic master agreement in March after more than three years of negotiations. Market participants welcome the document, but say…
Protect to survive
The Lehman minibond scandal put Hong Kong firmly in the spotlight, with television images of protesting investors beamed across the world. In response, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is making changes to investor protection rules. Martin…
