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At least 2,000 people attended Bear Stearns' 14th annual global credit conference last week at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York.

Cash is king in the current credit environment, according to Victor Consoli, senior managing director and high-yield researcher at Bear Stearns.

Kelly Maier, high-yield trader at Citigroup, has joined Goldman Sachs as v.p. in high-yield trading, according to Ed Canaday, spokesman for Goldman.

A Deutsche Bank-led sale on behalf of Exide Technologies tanked last week, plummeting an additional 10 points to bring it 25 points below where it was launched just two months ago.

Credit investors' outlook is at its worst in recent history, according to the most recent J.P. Morgan credit client survey.

--Kathleen Haines, senior v.p., cfo and president at OMI Corp., on the decision to amend its bank debt and roll $372 million in facilities into a $320 million reducing revolver.

Credit Suisse First Boston will look to arrange a $600 million financing package to back K-Road Ventures' 3 GW purchase of Exelon Boston Generating facilities, according to Power Finance & Risk, an LMW sister publication.

The high-yield market is "approaching a strong technical headwind" and spreads will widen further, said Michael Taylor, high-yield strategist at Bear Stearns.

-- Andy Gordon, portfolio manager at Octagon Credit Investors, on the benefits of buying collateralized debt obligations from established managers and not startups.

Share buybacks, dividends and other shareholder-friendly initiatives continue to threaten credit quality and bondholder interests, according to panelists and attendees.

EA Kratzman has joined Katonah Capital from Rabobank to manage new funds the firm will be raising.