How to Monitor Junk Bond Spreads?

Have you tried the Markit site?
http://www.markit.com/marketing/indices.php

 

Apparently they only 'Capture daily price fixings'... there are some historical data but not realtime quotes.

 

Even if you have bloomberg you still won't get "realtime quote" unless you also receive pricing runs from the dealing desks (that is, you trade with them). Even then, the runs are not entirely always up to date.

So, in short, there's no easy way to monitor these spreads throughout the day.

 

But then how how the bond reporters @ newfeeds are able to write articles during the day such as (for example) 'ABX, LCDX, CMBS, or the CDX, the synthetic markets are trading wider' etc etc.. ?

Or... "ABX, used by investors to hedge their subprime mortgage exposure, hit fresh intraday lows on Monday. " [Reuters news on July 2 2007 - http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...RTRIDST_0_USA-SUBPRIME-BONDINDEX-UPDATE-1.XML]

So how do investors use the ABX index to hedge their subprime mortgage exposure if they have no realtime access to this index?

 

They call the big players dealing desks !

 

when Sterns says their 2 funds are 9 cents ask at best, it's time to wad up the paper and wipe your butt with it...

Moody's and S$P where art thou????????

 

Apparently the ABX indices are only calculated a couple of times a day.

Interestingly Paribas is one of the main firms that values the indices - the same ppl who said today "we don't know what the values are and we don't know how to value them"

LOL

 

BNP is talking about cash sub-prime assets. ABX is a derivative index. They are still widely quoted many times per day by major dealing desks in ABX and CMBX (note: BNP Paribas is not a major player in this area).

Moreover, Mark-It only provides end-of-day fixings (they have an intraday service in the works). Intra-day quotes are only avaliable by either calling the desks or looking at the once-in-a-while pricing runs over bloomberg.

 

And I should add, for ABX both bid and offers are quoted with wide but not unreasonably wide spreads.

 

thanks for the info. I was only going on what a bond analyst/trader said on CNBC World Exchange this am. Maybe she was talking her position, I don't know.

Cheers