Morgan Stanley quietly move ‘peripheral sovereign debt’ to the collections department
There is a shift occurring in world economics in the wake of the credit crisis, and this move at Morgan Stanley sums it up. There is an assumption that there will be a sovereign debt default, and for now is it assumed it will come from the ‘peripherals’.
Government bonds: A coinage debased | ft.com
It was a small decision but the symbolism was huge. A few months before Ireland’s multibillion-euro bail-out, announced last week, Morgan Stanley quietly switched dealing in the country’s bonds, along with those of Greece, Portugal and Spain – together, the four “peripheral” countries often seen as the eurozone’s weaker members – from its sovereign debt desk to traders specialising in distressed financial assets, some of the riskiest investments out there.
“Peripheral debt is now an asset class in itself,” says a person close to the bank
