The Debts of the Spenders: Commercial Real Estate Update

CORRECTION: As commentator, Dark Space, observed, the graphs measure

"the current basis point spread that the indices are trading at. So, as fear (and liquidity, and credit problems, etc.) increases, spreads increase (and prices go down)."

http://debtsofanation.blogspot.com/2009/02/debts-of-spenders-commercial-real.html#comments

Well, at least I got one thing right they do measure the fear among institutions! I have kept the original description for comparison. Hey, this is a learning process and I do not claim to get everything right.

These graphs measure the spreads between the bid and ask prices in CMBS (commercial mortgage backed securities) linked to commercial real estate financing. They represent the FEAR among institutions of impending default. Each graph is separate for individually rated securities. The top shows AAA and the last shows BBB grade.

http://www.markit.com/information/products/category/
indices/cmbx/history_graphs.html