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As hedge funds continue to play an increasingly bigger role in the leveraged loan market, investors are questioning whether they will stay in the market or if they are just hot money­ investment funds capriciously seeking high, short-term yields.

The euro reached a high of USD1.28 against the dollar last Wednesday as the reelection of Bush saw market participants confirming their view of further dollar weakness by selling options.

Abbey Financial Markets is looking to launch a platform of investment funds in the first quarter and will likely offer an innovative property-linked fund.

Calyon is planning to add its name to the list of market makers for the Dow Jones iTraxx Asia index in the coming weeks.

Calyon is in the final stages of launching an innovative market value credit platform, which it aims to roll out to institutional and retail clients.

Merrill Lynch is pitching a trade in Japan, in which investors use the equity dividend to purchase credit protection.

Falling implied volatility and tighter credit spreads have led to a surge in convertible bond arbitrage activity as funds look to wrap up positions before year-end.

The FTSE Hedge index and sub-indices may be used as underlyings for structured products issued in Asia.

--Eric Glicksman, a managing director in the equity-linked products division at Wachovia, explaining his views on the growth of patenting in the derivatives market.

Gartmore Investment Management is considering whether to offer capital protection on its fund of funds, Perseus.

Laurent Sroussi, managing director and deputy head of sales for equity derivatives and structured products for North America at Société Générale in New York, has left the firm.

JPMorgan is gearing up to become a regular issuer of retail structured notes in Asia, following a novel credit/equity hybrid note launch in Hong Kong last week.