The market for asset-backed commercial paper managed its first increase since early August in the latest week, confirming that a set of coordinated central bank initiatives managed to keep the market liquid at the year-end.
Analysts said US Federal Reserve data in future weeks would make clear whether the growth the asset-backed market saw at the year-end was a fluke linked to the extraordinary central bank efforts, or the start of a positive trend.
"The pop in this first week of 2008 will probably prove an aberration in the ongoing unwind of the commercial paper funding vehicles for securitized mortgages," Action Economics said.
Data posted by the Fed showed a US$26.3 billion increase in asset-backed commercial paper in the week to Wednesday. The rise marked the first increase since the week of Aug. 8, when the market began contracting amid fears over exposure to subprime mortgage assets.
The increase in asset-backed sales was partially offset by declines in other areas, including a US$9,6 billion drop in commercial paper issued by financial institutions. As a result, the overall market for all commercial paper rose by US$13.2 billion in the latest week.
Commercial paper is a type of short-term note issued by corporations to fund short-term operations. Normally it is a highly liquid market, but it has been under pressure since last summer because some asset-backed commercial paper uses subprime mortgages as collateral.
The Fed, in concert with the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the central banks of Canada and Switzerland, last month put in place a number of extraordinary measures to make sure that the financial markets had sufficient funding.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS