The slowdown in the collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and collateralized loan obligation (CLO) markets is leading some Wall Street firms to refocus on their core competencies by shifting "non-core" mid-level and back-office functions to third-party specialists...more...

For the most part, CDO market activity has been lackluster for both issuers and investors since last summer’s credit crunch, according to Kevin Petrovcik, Managing Director and Head of the Financial Structures Group for Invesco with over $13 billion in CDOs under management, but a correction may be in store...more...

The London office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (“Orrick”) hosted a panel discussion on 13 March 2008 to discuss the credit crunch, the liquidity crisis and the challenges involved in the valuation of certain assets, including collateralized debt and bond obligations...more...

Ben Shoval, Managing Director of Ambit Funding, answered a few questions for us about the firm he and his partners run and how they are enabling hedge fund investors to generate returns by taking an unusual approach to investing in the asset-based space...more...

A CPDO has been downgraded by Moody's to high yield making it the first to lose its investment grade status. The €47.5 million note, Elm Financial Basket Tyger Series 103, was downgraded eight notches last week, on November 16, to Ba2. It had already been downgraded to Aa3 in mid-September as a result of the volatility in financial CDS spreads. The instrument was launched in April with a rating of Aaa...more...

As turmoil in the credit market subsides and corporate credit indices rally, Sivan Mahadevan, Managing Director, Credit Derivatives and Structured Credit Morgan Stanley and his team, believe trades that benefit from the passage of time and credit healing present opportunities...more...