Preferreds drift lower; RAIT Financial notes to free Wednesday; Seaspan lists on NYSE

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Phoenix, April 8 - Preferred stocks were ticking down again in Tuesday trading but managed to pare at least some of the losses.

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index was off 4 basis points as of mid-morning and closed off 1 bp.

"The market is still a little skittish," a trader said.

A trader said he was seeing RAIT Financial Trust's newly priced 7.625% $25-par senior notes due 2024 at $24.75 early in the day.

The $60 million issue priced on Monday. It had not yet freed to trade as of Tuesday morning.

According to another trader, the deal was slated to free up on Wednesday morning.

He pegged the notes around $24.60.

Among other recent deals, Seaspan Corp.'s $300 million of 6.375% $25-par notes due 2019 were admitted for trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The deal priced March 27. The ticker symbol is "SSWN."

The notes were trading at $25.06 at mid-morning, which compared to opening levels around par. The issue ended the day at $25.28.

Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. led the deal.

A trader said he was hearing another small non-rated financial deal could be coming as soon as Tuesday, though he was not sure which company specifically would be doing the issuing. He also remarked that the market was not expecting any big deals until after Easter, especially as banks are going into a blackout period ahead of earnings releases.

A second source also noted that he was hearing of another non-rated new issue, possibly for Wednesday business.

Fannie, Freddie improve

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferreds were gaining ground in Tuesday trading following comments made by senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) at a Bloomberg Government breakfast meeting.

Brown, also a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said that it was unlikely any of the bipartisan reform efforts put forth would actually get passed into law this year.

Brown also called for a simpler plan that the complicated ones already on the table.

Fannie's 8.25% series S fixed-to-floating rate noncumulative preferreds (OTCBB: FNMAS) rose a quarter, or 2.62%, to $9.80. Freddie's 8.375% fixed-to-floating rate noncumulative perpetual preferreds (OTCBB: FMCKJ) increased 24 cents, or 2.42%, to $10.14.

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