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Barclays Capital and Mediobanca will early next week launch Romulus Finance Srl, the Eu1.2bn whole business securitisation for Aeroporti di Roma. Tranche sizes and maturities are still fluid, although the deal is expected to come in a seven year floater, worth Eu300m-Eu500m and split into euros and dollars, with price talk at 55bp over Euribor/dollar Libor.

Securitisation specialists prepared for another round of restructuring in the UK water sector this week as Royal Bank of Scotland and Vivendi Environnement announced their intention to buy First Aqua, the holding company for UK utility Southern Water. The acquisition, scheduled for March, will be followed by a debt restructuring in May arranged by Citigroup/SSSB and RBS Financial Markets. A further securitisation is expected to come from Northumbrian Water, the water and sewage company owned by multi-utility Suez, which last week invited offers of interest from potential bidders, including financial buyers. Suez declined to comment.

Access to the debt markets for the UK's public transport network came a step closer to fruition this week as the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) received senior debt ratings from all three agencies. The ratings, Aa1/AAA/AAA, are predicated on a letter of comfort from the government, signed on Monday and to be approved by parliament in the next two weeks.

Keith Jacobson, managing director and former head of the recently disbanded strategic solutions group (SSG) at Merrill Lynch in New York, has left the firm. After SSG, a specialized group responsible for structuring and marketing derivatives-based transactions, was merged into Merrill's derivatives sales division last November, Jacobson's role was eliminated (DW, 11/10). Jacobson quit in late January after failing to find a suitable role within the firm, explained one Merrill insider. Michael DuVally, spokesman at the firm in New York, declined comment. Jacobson could not be reached.

Andrew Feldstein, managing director and co-head of North American structured products and derivatives marketing at JPMorgan in New York, has reportedly resigned. Calls to Feldstein's office in New York were not immediately returned. Chris Harvey, managing director and co-head of the division, was traveling and did not respond to a voicemail message. Michael Dorfsman, a JPMorgan spokesman in New York, could not immediately provide comment.

Andrew Feldstein, managing director and co-head of North American structured products and derivatives marketing at JPMorgan in New York, has resigned. Michael Dorfsman, a JPMorgan spokesman in New York, confirmed the resignation, adding that Feldstein is exploring other options within JPMorgan or in partnership with the firm. He said it is premature to discuss plans for Feldstein's replacement, declining further comment.

Despite the announcement that Fleming Companies and Kmart had terminated their supply agreement, bank debt levels for Fleming's "B" term loan have remained high. Traders quoted the "B" in the 97 3/4 - 99 1/4 context due to the possibility that the company's term loan will be taken out within the next three months either through asset sales or through a new asset-based facility. The company has $325 million of term loan outstanding. Mark Shapiro, Fleming cfo, could not be reached by press time.

Bank of America Securities has begun to market an EUR1 billion (USD1.08 billion) collateralized debt obligation, called Anchor CDO I that features what is believed to be the first junior super senior tranche. Mitch Braselton, head of global structured products marketing for Europe, Middle East and Africa in London, says one motivation behind structuring a deal like Anchor is that monolines and reinsurers--super senior swap providers--are demanding more subordination in deals.

JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank were negotiating with potential buyers as DW went to press Thursday for their collectively owned database of reference entity names for credit-default swaps, and Mark-it Partners in St. Albans, U.K. was the frontrunner. Andy Brindle, head of global derivatives at JPMorgan in New York, said no decision had been made. Officials at Mark-it Partners could not be reached.

Derivatives staffers at Credit Suisse First Boston have reportedly been left reeling after seeing their bonus payouts being cut by as much as 80% on last year, said recruiters in New York. While most staffers were expecting pay cuts, many were not prepared for their scale, which headhunters agreed were among the worst presented by Wall Street firms so far this payout season. John Gallagher, spokesman for CSFB in New York, declined comment. Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Bear Stearns are among Wall Street firms that have already paid out bonuses, said headhunters.

Deutsche Bank's equity derivatives structured product group is developing its first products that will provide investors with real estate exposure, some of which will use total-return swaps. These instruments, which will be used as wrappers, will allow investors that are restricted from investing in real estate to receive synthetic exposure to a fund, said Geert Bossuyt, director in structured products in London. He explained that investors have been asking for ways to gain exposure to real estate for extra yield as equity markets fall and interest rates remain low.