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Quarry Point Partners, which is run by Roger Gordon, formerly head of global high-yield research at Goldman Sachs, and Barry Schwartz, ex-head of high-yield trading and sales at the former Banc One Capital Markets, is looking to hire a senior analyst.

There is nascent speculation Japan may ramp up its purchases of Treasuries and agencies to stem appreciation of the yen if and when China revalues its currency, which it is under increasing pressure to do.

Credit default swaps that reference bank loans appear to be set to take off after several years of idling.

The European cash bond market outperformed the credit default swap market last week, in a sign the panic hitting the CDS market over rumors of hedge funds blowing up is not based on fundamental credit concerns, said London-based traders.

INVESCO Asset Management in London will shorten duration by a year if there is evidence of growth re-emerging in the U.S., according to Mark Dowding, head of global bonds in London and manager of the $400 million global fund.

Bonds of companies in the financial and other high-quality sectors are likely to benefit from positive technicals once General Motors and Ford Motor Co. are ejected from the Lehman Brothers investment-grade indices on June 1.

ABN AMRO has re-entered the Hong Kong warrants market and is preparing a flurry of issues across various asset classes.

Hedge funds and dealers in London are beginning to trade options on equity baskets against options on the component stocks in the basket.

BMO Bank of Montreal's London operation BMO Nesbitt Burns has boosted its structured credit products team by adding three new staff to the desk.

Citigroup in London has hired Andrew Lakeman, previously at AXA Investment Managers, as v.p. in its structured product sales team.

Credit derivatives traders reported phenomenal volumes of buying on the European iTraxx indices last week, causing spreads on the index to widen to record levels.

Deutsche Bank is preparing to make a splash in the U.S. structured products market by building its staff, trading and structuring capabilities in the region.