Free content

A French government agency has a massive funding requirement of EUR39 billion over the next 12 months, which will turn it into one of the most-frequent and largest of European borrowers.

--Stan August, managing director in high-grade research at Banc of America Securities, on the potential impact of Hurricane Frances on large insurance companies.

Take me out to the ballgame... Irvin Goldman, ceo and president of debt capital markets and asset management at Cantor Fitzgerald, threw out the first pitch at last Wednesday's New York Mets game.

Calvert Asset Management sees value in taxable municipals as opposed to the relatively tight investment-grade corporate bond market.

Nextel Communications is expected to issue a $1 billion high-yield offering this month, according to buy-siders who have been approached about a deal.

This chart, provided by Citigroup Global Markets, tracks bid-ask prices for par credit facilities that trade in the secondary market.

State Street Global Advisors' cash management group in London is looking to invest between EUR3-5 billion in asset-backed securities over the course of the next year, according to Michael Karpik.

Tom Reslewic, ceo of LeCroy Corp., on selecting Bank of New York to lead the financing backing its acquisition of Computer Access Technology Corp..

Henry Schmeltzer, a heavyweight of the European structured credit markets and most recently managing director and head of European credit structuring at Swiss Re Capital Management & Advisory in London, is joining UBS.

>

ABN AMRO has set up a sales effort to target equity derivative sales to institutions in London and has hired Amilcare Police, managing director and head of equity institutional sales at Merrill Lynch, to head the team.