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Bear Stearns is adding extra downside protection for investors in structured equity products, which contain options that allow the underlying assets to be put back to investors when the underlying falls.

Basis trades between cash bonds and credit-default swaps are becoming popular, safe trades given the credit markets are stuck in a frozen position.

Khaleej Finance & Investment, a Bahrain investment bank, is pitching a 100% capital protected fund linked to a basket of options on the Dow Jones Islamic Index, crude oil and copper prices.

Calyon has hired David Hitchins from Bank of America as head of fx options trading in London.

Citigroup is marketing in Europe and Asia a managed investment-grade-rated combination note of equity and mezzanine collateralized debt obligation tranches.

A raft of collateralized commodity obligations are being marketed, according to Street officials who say as many as eight to10 transactions are being touted.

Citigroup has hired Michael Hampden-Turner, senior structured credit and derivatives research analyst at The Royal Bank Of Scotland in London.

Dealers have been rejiggering delta hedges in their correlation books because the spreads on the underlying credit indices, which are used as delta hedges, have shrunk.

Constant proportion debt obligations are being snagged by the rating agencies.

Constant proportion debt obligation dealers and index tranche traders are beginning to plot strategies for the March 20 roll of the CDX and iTraxx credit derivative indices

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. is planning early next year to complete its search for a credit derivatives trade settlement agent and to finalize the back loading of existing over-the-counter contracts to an automated platform.