The primary market was back in force last week with over $10 billion of new deals launched as issuers across the credit spectrum took advantage of the ever-decreasing level of rates. Demand for the new deals was strong though near-term indigestion caused a weakening in secondary market spreads. Close to $1 billion of the volume was high-yield including the successful relaunch of a deal that was pulled in July. Risk appetite and demand for junk bonds is rising despite the continued poor returns in the sector. Bolstered by the number of $1 billion plus deals, the average deal size has jumped substantially in recent weeks and at $600 million is more than twice that seen during the July primary market freeze. Weighted average rating remains in the single-A range and the weighted average maturity at nine years is trending toward the low end of the year's range.
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