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Ron Neal, former head of structuring with Trafigura Group in London, has joined Macquarie Bank to head up a push into commodities trading in the Americas.

UBS plans to integrate its Asia-Pacific cash and derivatives fixed income desks in Tokyo and has hired one of the most prominent fixed income professionals in Japan to co-head the effort.

--Moriyuki Ito, head of asset and liability management at AXA Life Insurance (Japan) in Tokyo, commenting on the reasons why it is looking at making its first use of credit derivatives.

A bondholder group led by AIG Global Investments and Columbia Management Group is expected to announce a winning bidder for Hollywood Casino Shreveport, a Louisiana casino, in the coming weeks.

CreditSights, a New York-based independent fixed-income research firm, will shortly initiate coverage of the European energy and utility sector, and has hired Andrew Moulder, a utility analyst at Barclays Capital in London to lead the effort.

Franklin Templeton Investments may add Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae pass-throughs to its already overweight portfolio. Roger Bayston, manager of the $400 million Strategic Mortgage Bond Fund in San Mateo, Calif., said Fannies and Freddies are cheaper than Ginnie Maes in the current environment.

Merger and acquisition volumes in the second quarter are coming in much lower than the pace that was set in the first quarter, when volumes were boosted by several mega-mergers, particularly in the finance sector.

Sheila King, finance director for the Alaska Student Loan Corp., is accusing Moody's Investors Service of placing her agency's outstanding bonds under a negative watch as retaliation for the issuer advising the rating agency it didn't plan to use it for an upcoming offering.

William Cumming, who two weeks ago quit Citigroup Global Markets to join Bank of America as head of European asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities finance and origination in London, has done an about face and returned to Citigroup.

AXA Investment Managers has hired Craig Hurt as fixed-income product specialist in London, a new position.

Brandywine Asset Management will consider buying long-term Treasuries if the bear market for bonds continues, according to Steve Smith, portfolio manager of $4.1 billion across roughly 70 accounts in Wilmington, Del.

Todd White, head of pass-through trading at Lehman Brothers in New York, is headed to HSBC to become head of MBS trading. White, a Lehman veteran, could not be reached.