Markit puts planned index on hold

If you are a participant in the troubled CDS universe, you've heard of Markit. It's best know for its indexes on CDSs and asset-backed securities, upon which Wall Street built some derivatives that allowed some people to make fortunes betting against subprime-related securities while others tanked.

TheStreet.com reports that Markit has announced that it will "put on hold" the launch of an index of synthetic U.S. prime mortgage-backed securities after "extensive discussions" with major market participants. The view is that such an index might have pressured some banks to re-value their prime mortgage holdings downward, possibly requiring more writedowns. The company will reevaluate the launch in 2009. It would have created another vehicle for funds to bet on or against such securities.

For more:
- here's the article

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