You know the market has officially shaken off its doldrums when dividend recaps are back.

Catch up fast: A dividend recapitalization is what it's called when companies issue debt and use some of the proceeds to pay shareholders a dividend. Sometimes public companies do this — more often, it's those owned by private equity firms.

Why it matters: These deals are peak financial engineering, a purely opportunistic — and potentially risky — use of the debt market. It's notable they're making a comeback even as interest rates remain pretty high. READ MORE