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Demand for investment products linked to baskets of mutual funds has spiked ahead of the year-end.

Firms in Europe are looking at ways of taking advantage of the appetite for venture capital, by making the asset class accessible to retail investors.

CIBC World Markets plans to reenter the North American structured credit market in 2006 after nearly a three-year absence.

Kris Kowal, managing director of fixed income and portfolio manager of $5.3 billion at DuPont Capital Management, is maintaining his position in General Motors Acceptance Corp. and Ford Credit.

Three industry trade groups have banded together to protest a recent ruling that subordinates claims of Enron debt holders who bought loans from parties the company said committed fraud.

With frosty temperatures and snow and freezing rain hitting New York last week, some loan market heavyweights had to be recalling the island fun they had recently at the rock block weekend wedding of Highland Capital Management President Jim Dondero.

This chart, provided by Citigroup Global Markets, tracks bid-ask prices for par credit facilities that trade in the secondary market.

American Airlines' bonds jumped eight to 10 points last week as short sellers clamored to buy back bonds.

--David Kerr, senior v.p. of COMSYS, on why it withdrew from a $150 million private offering of senior notes in favor of a proposed $230 million bank deal.

Tall Tree Investment Management, a new firm comprising former staffers of Van Kampen Investments/Morgan Stanley Investment Management, is preparing its first collateralized loan obligation.

The following charts show the top five advancers and decliners in terms of % moves in the loan, bond and credit default swap markets for the previous week.