Standard & Poor’s
World Cup trades hit fever pitch
As the dust settles on the World Cup and those that bought televisions on the basis that their national football team would win the tournament wonder how to match their rash expenditure with reality, Richard Jory reviews the copious research supporting…
A complex payoff
The Royal Bank of Scotland has created a complicated retail structured product based on volatility for the Australian market and teamed up with National Australia Bank to help with distribution. Capital for the seven-year product is protected at maturity…
S&P creates taxable municipal bond index
Standard and Poor's has created a taxable municipal bond index to give investors access to this low default risk, high return bond class.
Source offers European ETF investors access to volatility
Source has brought exposure to volatility to the European market through an ETF based on the S&P 500 Vix Futures Index
S&P launches quality ranking indexes and licenses to PowerShares
Standard and Poor's has extended its index range to include quality rankings indexes, one of which has been licensed to Invesco PowerShares, and has added sector indexes in its CDS Index family
Vanguard creates ETFs on equities, fixed income and property
Vanguard has increased its US ETF offering with the addition of a host of new products based on the benchmark S&P 500 and Russell 2000, and including equities, fixed income and property
US regulatory changes weigh on consumer ABS
Analysts declare Talf a success but say consumer ABS growth could be hampered by regulatory and accounting uncertainty
US Wrap: Accelerated growth and reverse convertibles share the spoils
In a low-issuance US market, accelerated growth structures and reverse convertibles lead the way
S&P creates taxable municipal bond index; talks structured products and ETFs
Standard and Poor's Taxable Municipal Bond Index offers exposure to a market that has grown substantially since the beginning of 2009.
S&P 500 benchmarked assets reach $4.83 trillion
Standard & Poor's survey shows large gains in assets benchmarked against its indexes
Market Analysis: Effective credit risk analysis
Market participants are conducting credit risk analysis on a growing number of counterparties, many of which are smaller, non-public and unrated firms, says S&P.
Half the loss
JP Morgan launched a two-year structured product based on property, homebuilding and financial institutions not long before the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. Capital was, of course, lost, but the cost would have been far greater on a direct investment
Containing contango
Commodities are back in favour with investors looking for diversification and absolute returns. But market conditions, coupled with the fact that most commodities remain in contango, means passive beta investments could disappoint. How are dealers…
Portuguese insurers shielded from sovereign risk, claims regulator
A focus on high-grade corporate bonds in their investment portfolios is insulating Portuguese life insurers from the continued market pressure on the country's sovereign debt, according to Instituto de Seguros de Portugal (ISP), the country's insurance…
Investors dispute claims sovereign downgrades were hasty
Senior EU officials may have criticised the rating agencies for reacting too aggressively to Europe’s fiscal woes, but investors say the reverse is true and the agencies remain behind the curve.
Index Innovation
Structured Products Americas Awards 2010
RMBS defaults still a worry for structured finance investors
Despite talk of economic recovery, structured finance investors in the US and Europe remain concerned about defaults and losses on RMBS deals, according to S&P research.
Committee hears of rating agency inertia as crisis built
Agencies were too slow to update ratings models during the crisis, Senators were told today.
Rating agencies under fire again in Congress
Research due to be presented today to a Senate subcommittee shows major rating agencies gave optimistic credit ratings to keep profits high.