Any port in a storm

Last month Credit looked at the names that were most likely to provide the biggest blow-ups of 2003. This month Philip Moore asks analysts whether there are any safe havens left for credit investors seeking refuge in these turbulent times

If there is such a thing as a consensus among credit analysts and strategists in these unusually tempestuous times, it seems broadly to be two-pronged. First and probably most important, this is emphatically no time to be a hero and try to root out the spectacular outperformers. As Gary Jenkins, head of credit research at Barclays Capital, puts it, this is an environment in which investors would be well advised to seek out credits that can offer some form of stability over the coming 12 to 24