The simple, entrepreneurial fix is a new mortgage product that would combine debt with equity, something like a convertible bond.

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Ten years ago, an investor eager to play the two side by side had essentially one instrument: the convertible bond (debt switchable into equity).

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Among hedge funds reporting losses, GLG Partners has said its convertible bond fund was down 5.2% in April--no report for May is available just yet.

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The convertible bond market has seen a lot of turbulence lately.

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The company, which makes screens for Apple's iPad and iPhone, needs to shore up cash to roll over as much as 360bn yen of short-term commercial paper and will need another 200bn yen to cover a maturing convertible bond in September 2013.

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The new investors may buy convertible preferred securities, that is, bond-like equity with an option to change to a set number of common shares at an established price and at an exercise date in the future.

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The bond yields 11% and is convertible into TMK shares, adding to the upside.

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In effect, a convertible consists of two bits: a normal bond, plus an option to buy equities.

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Convertible bonds are an interesting subset of the bond market in that they combine features of traditional bonds with stocks.

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Convertible bonds can be devised with any degree of equity-like or bond-like behavior to them, depending on the coupon and the conversion terms.

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