Primary quiet, though Charter, Frontier expected soon; Peabody slides after earnings warning

By Paul A. Harris and Paul Deckelman

New York, July 1 – The high-yield primary market opened the month of July, the year’s third quarter and its second half on Wednesday on a quiet note, with syndicate sources seeing no new offerings either announced or priced.

The primary’s relaxed tone is expected to continue until after the impending Independence Day holiday break in the United States.

However, the sources heard of at least two sizable deals from familiar Junkbondland names that could possibly come to market in the week ahead.

They said cable operator Charter Communications Inc. could hit the market in the coming week with at least part of the $13.8 billion of debt it expects to issue to help finance its acquisition of sector peers TimeWarner Cable Inc. and Bright House Networks.

Meanwhile, phone firm Frontier Communications Corp. might possibly do as much as $8 billion of new bonds as early as the coming week to help fund its pending purchase of wireline assets from Verizon Communications Inc.

Away from the new-deal realm, Peabody Energy Corp.’s bonds fell after the big coal producer revised its previously issued earnings guidance downward, blaming the anticipated fall-off on weather-related shipment issues in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and lower seaborne coal pricing.

Statistical market-performance measures turned higher across the board on Wednesday, after having been mixed on Tuesday and lower all around for three consecutive sessions before that. Wednesday’s was the first higher session seen since June 22.

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