Credit - 2008-06-01
Articles in this issue
Ethical investment: Which way is the wind blowing?
For years, ethical investment funds were seen as the preserve of hippies or religious nuts. Now though, increasingly impressive returns have caught the attention of mainstream investors. But have ethical funds gained enough momentum to really change the…
M&G - Fundamental truths
M&G's steady, conservative investment style during the years leading up to 2007 may have resulted in solid, if unspectacular, returns, but this methodical approach has served the firm well during the credit crisis. Rather like the proverbial tortoise, M…
Brazil rides the wave of global commodity boom to hit investment-grade status
S&P's upgrade to BBB- for Brazil is in part reward for the country's prudent economic policies that have seen it quadruple international reserves, but could rising inflation spoil the party?
What's it all worth?
When financial markets grind to a halt and liquidity dries up, assessing the value of securities is a notoriously difficult process. Andrew Krull, MD of BlackRock Solutions, talks about how the firm goes about determining fair valuation and appraising…
Profile: Tim Ryan
The recently appointed chief executive of Sifma, the financial markets body, talks to Dalia Fahmy about his plans for taking on the Fed and improving the rating process
Market Graphic: Speculative-grade default rates
Although European default rates are still relatively low, Moody's has pushed back, and up, its default rate forecast, says Deutsche Bank Securitization Research
Back to basics
We take you back to the credit basics to review everything you thought you already knew but were too afraid to ask... Vincent Papa, senior policy analyst at the CFA Institute, looks at fair value accounting
The Big Interview: Katrin Robeck
With the financial markets still reeling from the crisis in credit, and concerns about a global recession becoming more justified by the day, Matthew Attwood speaks to an economist from Moody's Economy.com about the role of central banks in maintaining…
Talking point - Are we facing a global economic slowdown?
In a special extended Talking Point, we ask whether the global economy is about to slip into recession, and, if so, what its effects may be. Our respondents reveal surprising differences of opinion..
Column: Dan Travers
The high-powered, lightening-fast computer systems that managers use to perform their risk calculations should be geared towards delivering reliability not speed.
Mortgage lender Edeus rebrands as due diligence firm
UK subprime lender Edeus shelves its origination business and starts offering investors an asset quality assessment service enabling investors to quantify risk in mortgage-backed asset pools
Column: Nigel Rendell
Recent EU members are finding that adopting the euro is a trickier process than anticipated.
Lawsuits leave monolines' future in the balance
Two high-profile court cases involving FGIC and XL Capital Assurance could determine the fate of the troubled monoline insurance industry. If the verdicts go against the insurers, the damage would not just be to their reputation, but it would call into…
Q&A: Laurent Paulhac & Robin Ross
After the Chicago Mercatile Exchange's recent acquisition of market data provider CMA, Laurent Paulhac of CMA and Robin Ross of CME Group talk about how the CDS market may change in the aftermath of the credit crisis
Vicious circles
Risk Management
Internal affairs
Operating models
Mortgage provider Edeus changes tack
From lending to offering technical expertise, Edeus offers investors a better understanding of risk in mortgage-backed asset pools
The great property price panacea
Property Derivatives
Through the looking glass
ABS Valuations
Cost of liquidity
Liquidity
S&P may cut Moody's ratings
Coding error elevated debt products' rating; Moody's initiates a thorough review of its processes
Solid as a rock
Distressed Debt
Prime suspect
Knowing the exact quality of the loans in a securitisation pool is key if investor appetite for mortgage securities is to return. Chris Ames, an asset-backed portfolio manager at Schroders, discusses what's prime, what's not, and what has to happen for…
Pimco makes big mortgage debt bet
Guarantee of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae prompts Gross to raise exposure to mortgage debt
No more special treatment
Accounting
Show me the money
Default Modelling
The good, the bad and the ugly
Last month saw US asset manager Pimco triple its holding of mortgage debt, UBS sell subprime loan positions worth $22 billion to a new fund managed by BlackRock, and HBOS get the first residential mortgage-backed securitisation issue in nearly a year off…
