|
|
|
|
| BondsOnline.com: instant access to and extensive coverage of over 3.5 million stocks, bonds, indexes and other securities covering major and emerging markets and exchanges across the globe. |
|
|
| Bonds Online |
|
|
| 5/10/2013Market Performance |
| Municipal Bonds |
|---|
|
S&P National Bond Index
|
3.00% |
|
|
S&P California Bond Index
|
2.96% |
|
|
S&P New York Bond Index
|
3.13% |
|
|
S&P National 0-5 Year Municipal Bond Index
|
0.70% |
|
|
| S&P/BGCantor US Treasury Bond |
400.09 |
|
| More |
|
| Income Equities: |
|---|
| Preferred Stocks |
|---|
|
S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index
|
848.03 |
|
|
S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (CAD)
|
636.26 |
|
|
S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR)
|
1,701.05 |
|
|
S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR) (CAD)
|
1,276.26 |
|
|
| REITs |
|---|
|
S&P REIT Index
|
174.07 |
|
|
S&P REIT Index (TR)
|
425.30 |
|
|
| MLPs |
|---|
|
S&P MLP Index
|
2,469.58 |
|
|
S&P MLP Index (TR)
|
5,428.50 |
|
|
See Data
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Investors Stay The Course Despite Sovereign Rating Changes |
NASDAQ - Dec. 13, 2011 - By Katy Burne
--Money managers aren't making wholesale changes to triple-A sovereign holdings
--Investors already reviewed average rating guidelines when U.S. was downgraded
--Triple-A corporate debt appreciating, with spreads likely to narrow further
By Katy Burne
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Investors are largely holding firm on highly rated sovereign debt in their portfolios, even as Standard & Poor's put the triple-A ratings of 15 euro zone members on watch for downgrade earlier this month.
Many fixed-income portfolio managers have refrained from repositioning their holdings wholesale, or making aggressive bets about which direction the markets are headed.
Michael Collins, senior investment officer at Prudential Fixed Income, says any impact of large sovereigns being downgraded will be limited because most investors are taking a pragmatic approach to such rating actions--especially after the U.S. lost its triple-A rating from S&P in August.
"We already went through all of our guidelines for clients when the U.S. credit rating was downgraded, and the end result was not much had to change," said Collins.
Uncertainty at the sovereign level has created a boost in demand for triple-A corporate debt, however, which is benchmarked to government debt.
There are only three corporate issuers with triple-A credit ratings left-- Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and subsidiaries of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)--and the prices of their debt went from 107.62 on average as of Aug. 1 to 114 cents on the dollar now, according to MarketAxess data.
Johnson & Johnson's 10-year bonds are now trading with a risk premium of 35 basis points over 10-year U.S. Treasurys, while comparable debt from Microsoft and Exxon is trading with a spread of 43 and 28 basis points over Treasurys, respectively.
The average yield on triple-A debt in the Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate Investment Grade index is now 2.32%, barely above yields on 10-year U.S. Treasurys now yielding 2.025%.
That shows that investors are hungry for the safest assets they can find, and that the gap between the perceived quality of government debt and that of corporates is narrowing.
"Ultimately, the deterioration in sovereign credit quality will lead more investors to buy quality corporate bonds, even beyond those that are rated AAA, causing their spreads over Treasurys to narrow," said Collins.
Still, central banks have acted to shore up sovereign bonds. The European Central Bank has relaxed guidelines on the quality of the collateral it will accept for loans to banks, lending support to lower-rated sovereign bonds at a time when they most need it.
"You have seen willingness by central banks such as the ECB to quickly adjust their criteria to address the sovereigns' downgrades," said Collins.
For the complete article.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Partner Market Place |
|
|
|
| Stuff to look at |
Yield and Income Newsletter: A must have for income investors. subscribe NOW
S&P Commentary and Newsletters: S&P
|
|
| BondsOnline Advisor |
Income Security Recommendation January 2013 Issue.
Keep up with monthly, in-depth coverage of fixed income market strategies, commentary, and insights as seen by our sources. Sign up for the free BondsOnline Advisor now!
Unsubscribe here [+] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
