Media – Blog
March 1, 2008
For cash investors, there exists a delicate and sometimes frustrating balance between deciding to stretch for those additional 10 basis points in yield and the urge to recoil to treasuries when isolated liquidity issues arise. To make wholesale judgments of any asset class or investment sector can result in unfounded
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January 8, 2008
Executive Summary The auction market relies heavily on investor confidence. Once certain bonds were perceived to be troubled, similar securities, even those with well run programs, may see their auctions at risk. The scenario of a bond ultimately curing itself with a successful auction is unlikely. It is unrealistic to
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December 1, 2007
Amidst the financial rubble brought on by the subprime crisis, might there be havens for cash (aside from under the mattress) for the corporate treasury investor? We think so. First, let’s review what led to the flurry of recent negative headlines. Since last August, there have been large write-downs by
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November 2, 2007
As the stock market continues its volatile trend and media highlight stories of institutional investors and banks taking heavy losses from subprime fallout, the venture debt market has, thus far, weathered the storm and remains largely unaffected. This healthy market in fact, is enjoying positive growth as companies continue to
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September 1, 2007
In April 2007 increasing losses sustained by bonds with exposure to subprime mortgages became apparent. [See “The Subprime Flu,” April 2007] In the months that followed, this brought on a widespread credit contagion and took many investors by surprise. Among the hardest-hit areas was the short-term credit market that came
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August 1, 2007
Utilization of debt for venture capital backed firms has become an increasingly popular strategic component of young companies’ capital structure. These emerging growth companies often view debt financing as a means to augment their cash position without having to give up as significant a portion of their ownership as required
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June 1, 2007
Executive Summary In the past year or so, LBO minefields started to appear in the “safe and sound” investment-grade credit landscape filled with A and AA-rated names. About 27% of the A-rated corporate index may be buyout targets. The LBO of Sallie Mae brings takeover risk to the “safe haven”
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April 1, 2007
When the obscurely named ABX.HE.BBB-.06-1 crawled from Wall Street trading computers into millions of living rooms through the national media last February, a system meltdown was fast approaching. The ABX isn’t an Internet worm; it is a specimen of “asset-backed credit default swaps,” or a quasi insurance policy on borderline
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February 15, 2007
Over the past few years, debt has evolved from a balance sheet burden to a benefit within the venture community. Debt funds, finance companies, banks, and hedge funds have all taken on venture lending positions in order to capitalize on the explosive growth in this industry. Yesterday, an article in
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January 25, 2007
The venture capital market has continued to show impressive growth since the internet bubble burst in 2001, marked by the five-year high of over $25 Billion in funding in 20061. An integral component of this market is venture debt, an approach that is increasingly utilized by young companies seeking to
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