Even as yields on US government bonds fell to record lows on safe-haven demand in September, investors passed up the much higher yields available on lower-rated corporate bonds, as worries about a potential default by Greece washed ashore in the US credit market. The result was a sharp drop in prices of outstanding less-than-investment-grade corporate bonds and a sudden contraction in new issues coming to market.

Uncertainty about how the debt crises in peripheral European nations would be resolved virtually shut down new-issuance activity in the US high-yield bond market in August. There was a modest recovery in September, but the total of $6.4 billion of new high-yield corporate bonds in the month was still far below the $38.1 billion peak for the year-to-date, which was set in May, according to KDP Investment Advisors, based in Montpelier, Vermont.

As dealers reduced their risk by limiting the number of speculative-grade bonds on their balance sheets, liquidity in the market dried up.

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In a move to stay competitive, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) has unveiled several strategies to attract more traders and raise trading volumes. This follows its recent failed bid to merge with the Australian Stock Exchange [ASX]. One of these will be to woo high frequency traders. High frequency trading (HFT) is a type of computer-programmed trading which involves no human interaction. It currently accounts for 30% of the derivatives trading volume on the Singapore Exchange. And SGX said it hopes to raise that level higher but declined to provide any targets. HFT potentially could support growing liquidity, making it more accessible for new capital and for investors to participate in the market.” Other initiatives to improve the bourse’s competitiveness include reducing tick sizes, and increasing its product range to include metal futures.

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If you’re one of the many borrowers in the UK keeping track of several unsecured debts, and you’d like to lower your monthly expenditure or simply make your finances easier to manage, a debt consolidation loan may be right for you.

By using a new loan to clear your existing unsecured debts, all your debts will be consolidated into just one – meaning you’ll be left with one payment to make each month, to one creditor.

Can any loan be used to consolidate my debts?

A debt consolidation loan, on the surface, is just like any other loan out there.

However, the type of loan you take out to consolidate your debts will have a big impact on other aspects of your finances – so it’s important to look into each type of loan before applying for one.

Secured debt consolidation loan (for homeowners)

Note: if you don’t own any property, you won’t be able to take out a secured loan.

If a loan is ‘secured’, it means you have placed a valuable asset (your home, in most cases) against the loan as security.

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If the very rich got that way through special access to government power, then why is the solution to tax them more, and not just to reduce government power?

And if the very rich got that way through hard work and innovation, then why the hell are we proposing to take resources out of these peoples hands?

Markets in Europe are up strongly the morning after an EU leaders meeting was held which aimed to put a bottom under the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and shore-up bank finances. Time will tell if the measures can have the desired effect, but market sentiment so far has been positive. By mid-morning, the CAC and the Dax had put on 3.88 and 3.66% respectively; the FTSE was up a more modest 2.24% – the UK does not use the Euro and UK banks are not so heavily exposed to Greek sovereign debt as some of their continental counterparts. The news was also greeted positively in Asian and Australian markets.

The “deal” that emerged from the meeting in Brussels last night involved providing banks with a guarantee of support against their agreement to accept a closer “haircut” on Greek debt than previously agreed. If Greek defaults on her obligations – and it is still far from certain that this will happen – the banks have accepted to agree to write-down losses of 50%. The EU lead

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The period of time between your first mortgage payments and the discounted rate is nearly coming to an end. You are sorely tempted to stick with your initial mortgage payments but are also astounded at how expensive your repayments will then be. If you are wondering if you need to remortgage, then you probably do. If that sounds really confusing, don’t be because the answer is alarmingly simple.

Remortgage does not mean that you are out of money and thus need to borrow more from the bank in order to survive. Instead, remortgaging means that you are savvy enough to do something about your current mortgage so that in the long run, you will be able to save money.

Thus, that is the primary interest in remortgaging. When you remortgage, depending on the type of deal that you opt for, chances are you will find that you are still paying less on interest rate than you normally would especially if the period for discounts on your current mortgage has ended. W Read more…