High yield Scuttlebutt

News of the bloodbath in the shipping markets continues to spill into the mainstream financial trade press. Most recently, Investment Dealer’s Digest ran a story entitled “Shipping Finance Founders as Banks Begin Arresting Ships.” On the high yield front, only $136 million flowed into the market and eight deals priced with two postponements the week we went to press. The slowdown is attributed to weakness in treasuries and shaky equity markets.

Since our last issue, Alpha filed its 10K with the SEC, which revealed that Mr. George Economou has agreed to pay himself almost $3 million in fees if he succeeds in restructuring Alpha Shipping. Generous. Alpha became the first shipping issuer to default when it failed to make its February 15th coupon payment. Standard & Poor’s subsequently downgraded Alpha from CC to D. There is no confidence that the company will be in position to make its coupon payment under the 30-day grace period.

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