Rate Hike Pause is Good News for Leveraged Closed-End Funds The Federal Reserve held steady on interest rates last week, not long after Fed chief Janet Yellen indicated officials would “proceed cautiously.” This could benefit leveraged closed-end funds. These funds tend to be more volatile than other financial products, Binyamin Appelbaum explains, but they may be a smart investment for people with a long-term focus. To read the full article in The New York Times, click: Fed Keeps Rates Steady and Says Labor Market Is Improving.
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In an optimistic prediction from Reuters, middle market M&A activity should carry lots of opportunities throughout 2014. The positive outlook comes after a combination of more certainty with respect to Fed tapering and fewer concerns about government stalemates. The prediction also relies heavily on the observation that companies previously focused on cost savings have begun to shift their attention to strategic growth opportunities. This transition is taking place at a time when there is a large amount of capital in the pockets of both debt and equity investors. At the same time, demand for floating-rate credit assets is at record…
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Watch Out, Wall Street! The Federal Reserve, a Primary Banking Regulator, is Trying Harder to Spot Speculative Excesses Peter Eavis at The New York Times Dealbook reports: In a speech on Thursday, governor Jeremy C. Stein, who joined the Fed last year, focused on parts of the financial markets that show signs of overheating. He went into considerable detail, citing metrics that appear designed to spot bubbles. Specifically, Mr. Stein raised a red flag about junk bonds and mortgage-backed securities, and how investors are financing their purchases of such assets.
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Fed Buying Is Having Profound Implications. Bond Vigilantes Have Been Selling Heavily and May Continue. That Means We Still We Won’t See Much of an Impact on Interest Rates. Paul Santos at Seeking Alpha claims you don’t need to worry about the bond vigilantes anymore. I, personally, have always been a big fan, and think they will return. But hey: This is Mr. Santos’ opinion piece, not mine, so I’ll let him cut to the chase. Santos doesn’t claim they’re in hiding. He simply claims they’re gone. Santos asks: “So when did the mass killings take place in the U.S.?…
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PE firms have recently begun to negotiate smaller equity contributions as borrowings increase, reports Matthew Sheahan at Mergers & Acquisitions. LBO activity came to a screeching halt last summer; there were $19.7 billion issued via 34 deals to back buyouts for all of 2011, but so far this year, nine high-yield bond deals totaling $8.3 billion have been issued to back LBOs. Banks and other creditors are sticking more of their necks out when funding private-equity players’ leveraged buyouts. Equity contributions to leveraged buyouts have generally remained in the 30 percent to 40 percent area for a couple of…