Pre-migration untagged articles

"A year ago our views were so far off the mainstream, we were treated by some clients as if we needed locking up under the mental health act. Yet now even some of our most dire forecasts are being accepted by market participants as mainstream." Albert Edwards, chief equity strategist at Société Générale and one of the biggest bears in the markets, celebrates moving out of the loony bin and into the mainstream by predicting that all things connected with emerging markets will become toxic waste.

Cairn Capital has replaced Faxtor as the manager of Faxtor High Grade 2007-1, a CDO of ABS. It aims to maximise recoveries on the defaulted deal.

Gazprom to buy KIT Finance

Dealers of private EMTNs: Non-syndicated deals for less than $250m excluding financial repackaged SPVs, self-led deals and issues with a term of less than 365 days.

The Schuldschein, a type of German promissory note, is the latest product to trouble investors, thanks to rumours this week that the Einlagensicherungsfond, a fund designed to protect Schuldschein investors, may not be deep enough to foot the Eu6bn bill likely to be put upon it by Lehman Brothers’ German subsidiary.

A wide basis swap and a flight to quality due to poor market sentiment meant that sovereigns made up the bulk of trades in the European commercial paper market this week.

Dollar swap spreads soared to all time highs amid huge dislocation in financial markets. Short term Treasury yields sank to lows not seen since January 1941 — at a time when the victory of Nazi Germany looked assured — while Libor rates soared.

The Swiss franc market was virtually the only live bond market this week: two government-backed issuers found investors. Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP) issued Sfr150m of 3% eight year paper on Wednesday and Oesterreichische Kontrollbank priced a Sfr450m two year bond yesterday (Thursday).

Lloyds TSB’s agreement to buy HBOS for £12.2bn has taken some of the pressure off HBOS shares and CDS, both of which have been battered in the past three days, raising fears that another UK bank could fall victim to the disarray in financial markets.

Reconstruction Finance Corp

Achmea Hypotheekbank’s Eu10bn covered bond programme failed its asset cover test (ACT) on five separate occasions between its first deal in February 2007 and July this year due to calculation errors. The bank said it has rectified the administrative errors that led to the lapse.

American International Group, the US’s largest insurer, was saved from the brink of bankruptcy this week with an $85bn revolving credit from the Federal Reserve.