Peabody down as decisions linger; rate hike causes oil drop; iHeart upbeat post-downturn

By Colin Hanner

Chicago, Dec. 14 – Distressed markets were mixed on Wednesday, taking blows from the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates by a quarter of a point, as well as company-specific news.

Peabody Energy Corp. was at the core of decliners on the session, spurred by the company’s up-in-the-air restructuring agreement.

Similar to Tuesday’s sentiment, traders had a difficult time pinning what was the cause of the downturn in St. Louis-based coal company Peabody’s distressed notes, but they pointed again to the looming restructuring.

Its 6½% notes due 2020 were down 2½ points to 72½, a market source said.

The Fed’s decision caused a downturn in equity markets and oil prices, bringing high-yield exploration and production bonds down in tandem.

West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.94, or 3.7%, to $51.04 at close, while Brent crude was down $1.82, or 3.3%, to $53.90.

Weatherford International Ltd. was down several points amid the price of oil, as was California Resources Corp. and Transocean Inc.

After announcing on Tuesday that it would not repay $57.1 million of its senior notes held by Clear Channel Holdings, iHeartMedia, Inc. continued to climb after a short period of losses in early-morning trading a day prior.

On Wednesday, the company’s 14% notes due 2021 traded up 2 points to 41½, a market source said.

Also seeing a 2-point uptick were its 10% notes due 2018, which settled with a 70 handle.

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