2 min readThere’s a very good chance that future generations will look back upon 2008 and remember it as the year of this century’s most alarming financial meltdown, on par with the crash of 1929. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s very likely the Fed action through the end of 2008 will be critically viewed and some…
2 min readSince August 17, 2007 there have been more than 40 separate measures announced by the Fed and Treasury designed to stabilize the credit markets. The most recent programs follow a similar remediation course to that of past credit bubbles that required direct government investment in banks and deposit guarantees by sovereign governments. These recent measures,…
6 min readRecent credit market events have stress-tested corporate cash portfolios more than at any time I can recall in my 28-year investment career. These events are shocking in scope and have threatened our financial system in ways not seen since the Great Depression. Because it’s so easy to “lose sight of the forest” in this unprecedented…
1 min readI understand that not all recipients of our monthly newsletter would have been affected by the meltdown of the auction rate securities market; however, the structure of the recent broker-dealer/SEC settlements may pique the interest of many corporate treasurers. Of specific interest to us is the manner in which institutional investors have been largely left…
1 min readIn real estate investing, we all know the old adage is location, location, location. And, as an extension, the three most important factors we’re looking to for signs of stabilization in the credit market are housing, housing, housing. Over the past 12 months we have seen national home prices plummet 15.5%, existing home sales decline…
1 min readIn light of the difficult credit market of late and the recent emergence of a small yet hopeful glow at the end of the tunnel, this month we wanted to cover a topic that can help with a question that may be on the mind of many corporate treasurers: How do we get back on…
1 min readNow for some good news…. Indicators of a recovering credit and liquidity environment have emerged significantly over the last month. The TED spread (3-Moth LIBOR vs. Treasuries) continued to narrow to 79 basis points, while a continued sell-off in treasuries contributed to a stronger upward bias in the Fed Funds futures contract. These indications, along…
1 min readNow well into our 18th year of working with treasury managers across the country, it’s as clear as ever that managing risk remains one of the least understood and most challenging areas of corporate cash management. The treasury landscape is littered with painful examples of write-downs from highly rated securities whose risk was miscalculated, misunderstood,…
2 min readI tend to liken the liquidity crisis to a hurricane that has hit the financial industry. Bear Stearns was swept away during the worst of the storm and now, as the weather subsides a bit, some treasurers are beginning to emerge from their shelters to assess the damage; what held fast and what may never…
2 min readAside from our own clients, in 17 years of helping guide Treasurers through the cash investment markets, I have never seen the corporate landscape littered with more casualties than today. Of all of the companies holding auction rate securities (ARS) today, an estimated 70% are experiencing regular auction failures and severe liquidity issues. In some…