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The US high grade corporate bond market enjoyed a rare burst of unself-concious vigour this week as a crowd of big name issuers jumped through what could be the last window of opportunity to issue deals for the next few weeks.

Joachim Willnow, co-head of the structured solutions group at Merrill Lynch in London, has left the firm.

Deutsche Bank pulled a $500 million high-yield offering from Case New Holland Monday, shortly before the priced transaction was set to close.

Bank of China International is preparing to launch equity-linked notes to Hong Kong retail clients this summer, following its recent structured product offerings.

Credit protection on tobacco behemoth Altria blew out Wednesday after legal woes started to emerge on its subsidiary Philip Morris USA.

BNP Paribas has brought aboard Taylor Liu, equity derivatives marketer at JPMorgan in Taipei, for a similar role in Hong Kong covering the Taiwanese market.

BNP Paribas has hired Yogesh Attre, an equity derivatives structurer at RBC Capital Markets in New York, in a similar role.

Bank of America has let go the Boston-based foreign exchange options trading desk at FleetBoston Financial in the wake of its recently completed acquisition of the Bean Town firm.

U.S. investors are starting to purchase equity-linked notes with embedded credit-default swaps. In the hybrid notes, investors sell credit protection to pick up yield.

Bronia Jenkins, a former head of foreign exchange options at Bank of America in New York, has left the firm.

In first-to-default trades investors earn, or pay, premium to sell, or purchase, protection on a basket of credit default swaps, which terminates after the first credit event or fixed term of typically five years if there are no credit events.

--David Barker, former managing director in risk management products responsible for marketing equity instruments in Germany at UBS in Frankfurt, commenting on his future plans.