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Credit derivatives traders concerns about a rumored leveraged buyout of J.C. Penney eased last week, pulling the Plano, Texas-based retailer's credit spread back to 220 basis points after widening nearly 200 basis points earlier in the month.

--Peter Fusaro, chairman of Global Change Associates, explaining carbon credit trading will be a massive market if the Federal government imposes nationwide regulation.

Lawrence Rhee, head of foreign exchange options trading at Société Générale in New York, has left to set up a fixed-income hedge fund.

Wachovia Securities has hired David Dami, a senior v.p. and head of the structured products team at Raymond James & Associates in St. Petersburg, Fla., as a director in the equity and fund structured products group in New York.

The Weather Investments consortium entered exclusive talks to buy Wind, the Italian telecom company owned by utility Enel, for Eu12.2bn yesterday (Thursday).

Credit Suisse First Boston's Leveraged Investments Group (LIG), a part of CSFB's Alternative Capital Division, is setting up a London platform to manage leveraged loans mezzanine debt and high-yield bonds.

Inflation figures have replaced monthly nonfarm employment reports as the economic data considered most important for the bond market.

A swath of buy- and sell-siders are anticipating material widening in the weeks to come and attribute the recent tightening to investors covering shorts and picking up recently cheapened high-beta names.

London-based Investec Asset Management's next move is to add to emerging market government bonds and to lengthen duration in its strategic bond funds, according to Jeremy Toner, co-manager.

Federal Reserve Governor Ben Bernanke has a leg up in the race to succeed Chairman Alan Greenspan after landing the slot to chair President Bush's economic council, according to Fedologists.

The €4.6 billion refinancing of the Republic of Italy's SCIP-2 securitization, which is due to be priced this week, is only taking place because the government's transaction falls outside the guidelines of the country's national securitization law.

Plainfield Asset Management, the nascent firm started by distressed maven Max Holmes, has set out its special situations investment strategy.