Troubles all round

摘要

"Toxic", "floorless" and "death spiral": all these descriptions make the risks of multi-strike convertible bonds (MSCBS) pretty plain. It's a shame that they don't seem to have been translated into Japanese. Japan's MSCB market has grown at a staggering rate. Only ¥48 billion ($410m) were issued in 2003, the market's first year. By last year the total had reached ¥1 trillion, reckons one Japanese securities firm. In other rich countries these bonds are, though legal, mercifully rare.