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French holding company Rallye re-opened the convertible market for 2003 with a generous Eu230m Oceane bond that investors hope will set the tone for the year. Being first out of the blocks was a concern for Rallye, which hired three investment banks to manage the sale. ABN Amro Rothschild, BNP Paribas and Crédit Lyonnais were bookrunners for the deal.

Rating: Aaa/AAA Amount: $300m (fungible with $500m issue launched 22/08/02)

Rating: Baa1/A-/A- Amount: $1bn global bond

Rating: Aa2/AA Amount: Sfr1bn

Rating: Ba1/BB+/BB+ Amount: $500m (fungible with $500m issue launched 15/11/02)

The growing European CMBS market will soon benefit from a new committee set up by the European Securitisation Forum to enhance liquidity and increase transparency in the sector. The Commercial Mortgage Securitisation sub-committee, formed in co-operation with the US Commercial Mortgage Securities Association is in part a response to the growth in the CMBS market across Europe and the increasingly pan-European nature of the asset class.

Crédit Agricole Indosuez opened the European ABS market this year with a rare synthetic collateralised debt obligation offering investors the chance to gain exposure to a portfolio of triple-A rated European ABS. The SPV, Triplas Synthetic CDO SA, issued just Eu35m of funded notes, referenced to an initial portfolio of 19 asset backed securities, with a nominal value of Eu600m. Crédit Agricole Indosuez will manage the senior risk.

BNP Paribas has resumed marketing Vela Lease Srl, a Eu1.2bn securitisation of lease receivables for Locafit, a subsidiary of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. Banca Nazionale del Lavoro is joint lead manager. The Eu571m 'A1' tranche, rated triple-A by Moody's and Standard & Poor's, is expected to come in the 30bp-32bp area for a 2.1 year average life and expected maturity in March 2006, while the second triple-A tranche, also worth Eu571m, will come in the 42bp-45bp range. The tranche has an expected average life of 4.5 years and is expected to mature in December 2009.

Microcell's bank debt surged on the announcement that the company has committed to a restructuring plan. A $3 million piece of the bank debt changed hands in the 61 1/2 context after climbing up out of the 50s last week. About two months ago, the bank debt levels began to rise from the 20s as lenders anticipated a restructuring that would be favorable to bank debt holders.

Euro/dollar risk reversals moved in favor of euro calls/dollar puts as the dollar began to strengthen against the euro last Thursday due to better-than-expected numbers from the Institute for Supply Management in the U.S. The 25-delta risk reversal moved to 1.1% from 1.4% in favor of euro calls earlier in the week. And at the same time, implied volatility in the currency pair fell to 10% from 10.3%, because traders predicted the dollar's fall was coming to an end. "Now the directional bias has evened out," he added. The greenback appreciated against the euro to USD1.0371 on Thursday from USD1.05 before the New Year holiday.

SAC Capital Management, a long/short equity hedge fund with approximatel USD4 billion under management, has hired Neil Chriss, co-founder and president of brokerage firm ICor in New York, to increase the hedge fund's assets dedicated to quantitative strategies capabilities. SAC plans to increase its use of quantitative strategies, such as statistical arbitrage, by both growing its assets under management and boosting the relative importance of the strategies in its group, according to Chad Loweth, managing director and head of business development in Stamford, Conn. Quantitative strategies could jump to 20%, from 5% of the firm's assets under management, added Loweth.