Pre-migration untagged articles

The credit indices are getting ready for the roll. At the moment, there are nine name changes to the 125-name iTraxx Europe Index. The official list will be published today (Friday), but very few changes, if any, are expected to be made to the provisional list.

Dollar swap spreads continued to soften this week as Treasuries rallied and yields declined. This was particularly true yesterday (Thursday) as a strong rally depressed swap spreads.

When the news was announced that the wealthy UK expat Joe Lewis had bought around 7% of Bear Stearns, the immediate reaction was to open bottles of vintage Krug.

The Swiss market continued to steady itself this week, with deals from domestic issuers Migros Genossenschafts-Bund and Givaudan. But opinion was split among syndicate bankers whether they signalled a way forward.

If Hollywood central casting was looking for the ideal diplomat to restore calm in a critical situation, they might easily select Josef Ackermann, chief executive of Deutsche Bank.

After restructuring the Cairn High Grade Funding I SIV-Lite at the end of August, Barclays Capital is restructuring Mainsail II, a SIV-Lite managed by Solent Capital, and is reported to be involved in the restructuring of Golden Key, managed by Avendis Financial Services.

-- Andy Welch, chief financial officer at FelCor, on his REIT's new revolver.