The new issue calendar continued to occupy the market's attention last week, as investors also worked on tallying up the year's more than 20% gains. NRG Energy and Telenet priced more than $1 billion in the primary market, indicating the continuing appetite for paper. In the secondary market, activity slowed down. Here is some of the notable activity.
No Solution For Solutia
Solutia Corp.notes fell anywhere from five to 30 points last Wednesday after the company, a spinoff of Monsanto Co.'s former industrial chemicals business, filed for bankruptcy after it failed to reach agreements with Monsanto on legacy liabilities. As of Wednesday, Solutia's 6.72% notes of '37 were down 30 points, while its 11.25% secured notes of '09 were down five points plus principal at 88.
RCN Prices Fall Slightly
RCN Corp. bonds moved from just north of 50 down to the high 40s. The cable company's 10.125% notes of '10 dropped to 48 on Wednesday, moving up again half a point on Thursday. Its 11.125% notes of '07 also fell from 51.5 earlier in the week to 50 on Wednesday. Analysts say they could not discern why the bonds fell as there was no company-specific news.
WorldCom Dips
WorldCom Groupnotes were down about one point on the week. Its benchmark 8.24% notes of '31 and 7.5% notes of '11 were trading at around 33.5 on Thursday, down roughly a point. Tom Keyes, head of high yield at Peconic Securities, says the drop is likely because of the company's year-end results, which were released earlier in the week. WorldCom reported a loss of $194 million due to prior costs.