On Sunday, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels clashed with Yemeni government forces – which are backed by Saudi Arabia – in the city of Aden, the leader's last stronghold in the country.
"This zombie cohort will trouble the markets for a while," reckons Mark Howard, head of credit analysis at Barclays Capital.Another source of trouble is the moribund market for mortgage-backed securities and that for collateralised-debt obligations (CDOs), which are backed by such securities.
So they killed the reform proposals (which are backed by many rank-and-file Democrats).
"We fully support these measures, which are backed overwhelmingly by both the public and expert opinion.
And then there are the $306 billion of illiquid assets, most of which are backed by the government.
The two measures — which are backed by banks and credit unions but have divided casinos and American Indian tribes — are far from becoming law.
During the recent housing boom, the companies also guaranteed more complex collateralized debt obligations, which are backed by portfolios of bonds.
"When you're getting in to December, of course retailers want things which are backed by publishers but they also want the books which have really chimed with readers.
For Hispanics without a credit history, banks are offering secured credit cards, which are backed by a set amount that the customer deposits in a bank.
Trading has also dropped off recently in the vast market for mortgage obligations, which are backed by consumer loans, according to Mickey Levy, the chief economist at BankAmerica.
And what of those "mass media reports" about the scope of the corruption, which are backed by the initial findings of Congress's General Accounting Office?
