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As issuance of synthetic CDOs linked to corporate reference entities has slowed, arrangers in the European market have looked to alternative reference assets-and in particular ABS-to maintain deal flow.

UBS has strengthened its Hong Kong-based fixed income desk with recent hires, transfers and promotions.

Eric Noll, director of research at Susquehanna Financial Group in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., underscoring the opportunity of new business.

UBS has hired Barry Finkelstein, head of repackaging in the credit derivatives group at Merrill Lynch in New York, in a similar role.

Kentucky-based Brown-Forman, a beverage company that's portfolio includes Jack Daniel's and Southern Comfort, has altered its hedging of foreign exchange revenues in order to take advantage of the declining dollar.

Market players holding speculative long Aussie/short U.S dollar positions turned to the options markets last Wednesday to gain exposure to the greenback's rebound.

Banc of America Securities has hired Steve Liu, credit derivatives trader at Lehman Brothers in New York, and lost David McAllister, who has left to join UBS in a similar role.

ACE has slashed around one-third of its staff at ACE Guaranty Corp. and ACE Capital Re and exited several businesses to prepare its capital markets subsidiaries for an initial public offering lined up for next quarter.

Bear Stearns has split its interest rate and credit derivatives marketing groups as part of a push into the credit derivatives arena.

BNP Paribas has set up a proprietary trading desk for credit arbitrage and transferred Stephane Delacote, Asian head of credit derivatives in Tokyo, to spearhead the effort.

Diane Garnick, head of U.S. portfolio strategy at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in New York, has left the firm.

Investors in collateralized debt obligations should focus on first-loss pieces and deals backed by European investment-grade equity debt.