Stampede of animals away from the watering hole Tyco Electronics canceled a bond offering. DAE Aviation Holdings Inc.scrapped plans for a loan. Credit-default swaps on Goldman Sachs GroupInc. and Bear Stearns Cos. rose to records on concerns investment bankswill be stuck with high-risk debt that they are unable to sell.
Riskpremiums surged after Absolute Capital Group Ltd., an Australian hedgefund, suspended withdrawals from two funds after forecasting losses onU.S. subprime mortgages. Bankers for Chrysler and Europe's AllianceBoots Plc yesterday agreed to take on $20 billion of loans to thecompanies after failing to sell the debt to investors.
''No onewants to hold bonds and everyone wants to sell,'' said Gregory Habeeb,who manages $7.75 billion of bonds at Calvert Asset Management Co. inBethesda, Maryland. ''The tone in the market is very poor.''
Investors, whose confidence has been sapped by losses from subprimemortgages, are balking at taking on more high-yield, high-risk debt.More than 40 companies reworked or abandoned bond offerings in the pastthree weeks. The retreat forced banks to take on at least $32 billionof risky debt and threatens to bring an end to a record run forleveraged buyouts, which surged to a total $690.4 billion of deals thisyear.
''You have a stampede of the animals away from thewatering hole,'' said Scott MacDonald, director of research at AladdinCapital Management in Stamford, Connecticut, which manages about $20billion in assets. ''Right now, everything that smacks of financialrisk is backing out through the door.''