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The five-year credit-default swap spread on General Motors Acceptance Corp. pulled in last week after parent company General Motors Corp. said it would seek healthcare concessions from the United Auto Workers, a union which represents many GM employees.

JPMorgan has brought on board four structured sales officials to boost European coverage.

Lehman Brothers has hired Stephen Roti, head of U.S. corporate equity derivatives sales with Credit Suisse First Boston in New York, as a managing director running its U.S. corporate equity derivatives business.

Thomas Hartnett, an interest rate swaps trader from Deutsche Bank in New York, has joined Lehman Brothers in a similar role.

Tim Drayson, head of the ABS and collateralized debt obligation syndicate desk at Morgan Stanley in London, has left the firm.

Morgan Stanley has appointed Sam Kellie-Smith, head of equity derivatives trading in London, as Asian head of equity in Hong Kong.

The Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust has entered into nine forward-starting 10-year interest rate swaps to hedge anticipated interest rate payments on future financings.

Refco Overseas, the European division of financial services firm Refco Group, is considering adding credit derivative trading to its fixed income and prime brokerage business, according to market officials.

The variance swap has gained increasing popularity among institutional investors seeking synthetic exposure to equity market volatility.

Dealers are looking to add bells and whistles on leveraged super senior tranches of collateralized debt obligations.

Michael Collins, a managing director in equity derivatives with UBS in New York, is joining SG Corporate & Investment Banking as head of corporate equity derivatives marketing.

--Brian Hall, treasurer at Arriva in Sunderland, commenting on changes to the transport company's hedging strategies under International Financial Reporting Standards.