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The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has experienced a record-breaking paper loss of ¥10.5 trillion ($70.7 billion) on its bond holdings, the largest loss since fiscal 2004. This poses a challenge for Governor Kazuo Ueda as he considers normalizing policy. The loss is not expected to deter Ueda from reducing stimulus if the bank's inflation goal is achieved, but it highlights the difficulties the central bank may face when it eventually moves towards an exit strategy. The BOJ's massive bond holdings, which make up over half of the central government's outstanding debt, are vulnerable to even a small increase in yields. On the other hand, the BOJ has seen unrealized gains from its holdings of exchange-traded funds, reaching a record ¥23.6 trillion. Despite the losses, Ueda has expressed confidence in the financial situation of central banks, emphasizing the need for responsible financial management to maintain credibility in the markets. [Extracted from the article]

A recent controversy in the world of quantitative investing has raised doubts about the accuracy of a widely cited paper on bond market returns. Alex Dickerson, a doctoral student at Warwick Business School, discovered errors in the influential paper by three Georgetown University professors. The errors invalidated the paper's findings and led to its retraction by the Journal of Financial Economics. This incident highlights the replication crisis in finance and raises questions about the validity of factors used in bond investing. Despite the uncertainties, systematic credit investing remains a growing business. [Extracted from the article]

Country Garden has managed to avoid its first offshore bond payment failure and reschedule local debt in recent months, though investors are bracing for delinquencies and a likely debt overhaul. The company also put up a short video clip, in which Yeung was accompanied by Country Garden President Mo Bin. [Extracted from the article]

Currently for the biggest US banks, none of the unrealized losses impact profit, but the ones in the AFS books do hit common equity. The recent surge in yields - which abated somewhat this week - has renewed investor focus on unrealized losses, a key issue during the turmoil that struck regional banks from March. (Bloomberg) -- After investment losses tore through the US financial system this year, a fresh slump in bank stocks shows some investors fear the problem - which at its most extreme claimed a handful of lenders - hasn't gone away. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Indian sovereign bonds slumped as the central bank's choice of relatively illiquid papers for its bond-purchase program disappointed traders. The yield on the 5.63% bond maturing in 2026 rose as much as 13 basis points to 5.89%, while the 6.64% 2035 bond yield climbed eight basis points. [Extracted from the article]

India's yield curve has been nearly flat even amid record borrowing by the government as insurers stepped up purchases of long-term bonds. (Bloomberg) -- India's auction of the debut 50-year bond met with strong demand Friday, underscoring growing interest from insurance and pension funds for ultra-long papers. [Extracted from the article]

This article presents information related to paper stocks in the U.S. which have been on fire of late, partly because of an industry upturn stemming from a lift in overseas demand, including a pickup in Asia. There are also expectations of more takeovers. One stock on a tear is Champion International, a producer of paper and wood products, which leaped from 48 on October 5, 1999 to 59 on November 10, 1999. Finland's big paper-and-forest-products company, Big Board-listed UPM-Kymmene, may make a bid for Champion.

Focuses on the dominance of emerging markets paper amid leveraged buyouts and cable loan deals. Increase in the Asian traders' interest in Kazakh and Russian paper; Background on the tranche activity at VNU.

The article provides information on international business conditions as of August 1990. The production index has remained the same. The output of coal, rail-freight traffic, paperboard, paper, lumber and electric power fell on a seasonally adjusted basis. The output of steel and crude-oil refining was unchanged. Stock prices and the growth rates for real estate declined. On the other hand, bond yields and business failures increased. Charts of production indicators, foreign exchange and monthly economic indicators are provided.

SBI Pension Funds Pvt., which manages $50 billion in assets, is considering investing in corporate and state debt due to the narrowing spreads on longer-maturity Indian government bonds. The fund's chief investment officer, Sandeep Pandey, expressed concern that the lack of term premium for longer-dated securities could impact returns for subscribers. Demand for longer-tenor papers has increased, leading to a compression in the spread between 10-year and 30-year bonds. The fund currently holds a portfolio of about one trillion rupees in corporate paper and 2.5 trillion rupees in sovereign and state debt. [Extracted from the article]

The article reports on the rise in demand for Alternative A-paper (Alt-A) residential mortgage-backed securities on the secondary market as of February 2014 while new-issue deals remain scarce in the medium term and spreads on subprime bonds become less attractive. Topics discussed include comments from Scott Buchta, head of fixed-income strategy at broker-dealer Brean Capital on bonds backed by middle-tier credit quality loans and an explanation on the yield of subprime assets.

"We therefore believe that the next policy decision the BOJ takes will likely be a major one - such as changing long-/short-term policy rate targets or terminating yield curve control altogether." (Bloomberg) -- Japan's two-year yield rose above zero for the first time since 2015, bringing the global era of negative yields closer to an end. [Extracted from the article]

The Fed had to similarlysupport the commercial paper market after Lehman Brothersfailed. (Bloomberg) -- Blue-chip companies that need to borrow inthe US now are increasingly relying on short-term IOUs toavoid locking in longer-term borrowing costs in a marketbeset by turbulence. [Extracted from the article]

This article presents brief descriptions of various recent socio-political issues and developments in the U.S. It first focuses on Senator John Sherman's latest banking bill. It provides that upon a deposit of bonds any national banking association shall be entitled to receive circulating notes equal in amount to the par value of their bonds bearing interest at the rate of not less than 3 per cent, and redeemable at the pleasure of the U.S. at the date of such deposit; and if bonds deposited are not so redeemable, and bear a rate of interest higher than 3 per cent, then the issue of circulating notes may be to an amount equal to 95 per cent. The article further reports that among the amendments to the Lowell Bankruptcy Bill suggested by the Convention recently held in Washington D.C., is one making dealings in futures on the part of the bankrupt a ground for objecting to his discharge.

H&M's "Blowout" Sustainable Bond Debut Lures $6.5 Billion Orders (Bloomberg) -- Hennes & Mauritz AB has slashed the yield offered on its debut bond by half after investor demand for the Swedish retailer's sustainable debt proved so strong. The investment-grade notes earlier attracted orders of about 5.4 billion euros, which covered the deal more than 10 times and allowed H&M to cut the spread by as much as 50 basis points between initial price talk and final terms. [Extracted from the article]

Reports on the pressure on asset-backed bonds as Latin America copes with global recession, crisis in Argentina and Brazil as of December 2001. Vanilla bonds issued by Latin America since July to December 2001; Workers' remittances to selected Latin American countries from 2001-2002; Local markets that are developing commercial paper markets. INSET: Getting Off the Ground, by Maria O'Brien.

Focuses on the business performance of medium term notes and commercial paper market in Europe, as of April 30, 2004. Increase in the interest rate of securities; Reason for the decline of bond issues; Percentage increase in the asset backed securities.