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Korean security house Good Morning Securities is looking to hire two marketers/structurers for fixed-income derivative products as part of a push into the over-the-counter derivatives market and already has hired two traders to guide the process. J.W. Ahn, Korean won interest-rate derivatives trader at Deutsche Bank in Seoul, is taking the new position of head of new products trading, responsible for fx and interest-rate products. Mino Rhee, Korean equity derivatives trader at Commerz Securities in Tokyo, will head up equity derivatives trading, relative value and arbitrage.

American Express Asset Management plans to rotate $200 million of MBS into corporates because it thinks the economy is not as weak as widely supposed, especially with consumer demand bolstering sagging corporate profits, says Jim Snyder, portfolio manager with the Minneapolis, Minn.-based firm.

Source: Thomson Financial/Securities Data. For more information, call Rich Peterson at (973) 645-9701.

HighMark Capital Management is preparing to sell longer-term corporates and buy shorter agencies and ABS for 20% of its portfolio, which would be an $800 million move. The move will shorten duration by 15%, in two progressive stages, aligning the duration to the benchmark by the summer, and shortening it by 5% by year-end, in anticipation of a corporate bond sell-off likely to take place in the second half of the year, after interest rates bottom out this summer, says Richard Grahman portfolio manager at the San Francisco-based investment firm.

A 37-year-old San Francisco man may want to consider a career change after he was arrested for a string of bank robberies. According to Reuters, police used the resume he'd accidentally left at the scene of the crime to track him down. "Here's the story: You shouldn't drink or take drugs and drive," San Francisco police Lt. Bruce Marovich told the Chronicle. "You shouldn't rob banks and do the same thing. That's what he was doing."

Cumberland Advisors, a Vineland, N.J.-based firm is expecting a long term increase in CPI, and has been moving out of seven- to 20-year traditional treasuries and into inflation-indexed treasuries. David Kotok, Cumberland's cio, says he had been effecting a gradual shift until the Federal Reserve's surprise rate cut in January. Since then, he has been moving into TIPS to the greatest extent that he can, within the objectives that his clients have established; the firm manages several hundred accounts, largely for high net worth individuals.

David Albrycht, portfolio manager at Phoenix Investment Partners in Hartford, Conn., has sold some $20 million each in corporate and emerging market paper over the last month, in favor of slightly higher credit quality. Concerns about rising default rates in the high-yield market have prompted him to sell positions in companies such as Nextel Communications and Anthony Crane Rentals he says. Albrycht, who runs three fixed-income funds totaling about $500 million, has used the cash to rotate into positions that include Century Aluminum 113Ž4 % '08 (Ba3/BB-) and Dresser Inc. 9 3/8% '11 (B2/B).

Scotia Capital is preparing to become a credit derivatives market maker in European names in London. Matt Giffen, director, credit derivatives sales at Bank of Nova Scotia in London, said the bank's investment banking division will soon start making markets in investment grade single-name credit default swaps, total return swaps and first-to-default baskets.

The Chicago Board of Trade is rumored to be gearing up to negotiate out of its alliance with Eurex, the Swiss-German exchange, say CBOT insiders. Ahead of its meeting with Eurex in Germany on April 25, it is unclear whether the CBOT is trying to work its way out of part of the contract or divorce itself entirely from the deal. "Both Eurex and the CBOT are unhappy with the current contract, and I know the CBOT is looking for a way to get out," one CBOT insider told DW sister publication Wall Street Letter. A spokeswoman for the CBOT said, "We are happy with the volume on [alliance trading platform] a/c/e and we look forward to working with Eurex officials to come up with a future agenda that is in the best interest of both exchanges and their customers."

Adriano Cantreva, a marketer at Credit Suisse First Boston, has taken the position of credit derivatives marketer at Commerzbank Securities in New York. He will focus on covering hedge funds, according to a spokesman.

Icelandair has entered a call spread to hedge until June against the price of gas oil rising. Sveinbjorn Indridason, director of treasury in Reykjavik, said the airline bought an over-the-counter call option struck at USD220 and sold a call at USD240. Both options were for 6,000 tons of gas oil. The net premium on the trade was approximately USD6 per ton. Gas oil was trading at USD210 when it entered the trade.

Adrian Hyde, former managing director and co-head of credit derivatives trading at Chase Securities, has taken the new position of managing director, credit derivatives trading at TD Securities (USA) in New York. He has been brought on board mainly to expand the existing high-yield credit derivatives business at TD, according to an official at TD in New York. The group aims to leverage off TD's high-yield bond and leveraged loan platform, he added. Hyde declined to comment.