Subprime vultures: No time for distress

Credit market crunches are usually a boon for distressed-debt funds. The Enron and WorldCom-induced corporate credit rout five years ago brought them out of the woodwork. But the rapid price declines in subprime mortgage bonds this year haven’t attracted the same interest from distressed debt vulture funds as corporate credit problems typically do. Some are dipping a talon in. Marathon Asset Management is setting up a distressed subprime fund. And insurer Prudential Financial reckons the recent...