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Adelphia Communications was on the tip of investors' tongues last week as market players try to anticipate what the next step will be for the once infallible company. The company's Century Cable facility traded frequently in small pieces in the high 80s to low 90s context. Dealers believe that Adelphia's holding company will file for bankruptcy, but are unsure what the individual operating companies will do.

High-yield investors are increasingly looking at high-grade issues in the secondary market, finding that in many cases, they offer an opportunity to move up in credit quality while picking up extra yield. Ben Renshaw, an analyst at MacKay Shields who follows the healthcare and media sectors, says the volatility in the cable sector associated with the travails of Adelphia Communications has made high-grade names such as Cox Communications (Baa2/BBB), Comcast Corp. (Ba1/BBB-), Cablevision Systems Corp. (Ba3/BB- senior subordinated) and AOL Time Warner (Baa1/BBB+) worth a look. "You've got single-B healthcare names trading in line with triple-B cable and media names," he notes, pointing to Triad Hospitals 8.75% notes of '09 (B1/B-), which were trading at 266 basis points over Treasuries last Thursday, while the Cox 6.75% notes of '11 were 265 basis points off the curve. He says MacKay Shields is still determining in which of the four cable names it will invest.

Joe Wilson and Martin Pryor have left J.P. Morgan's loan sales desk for Salomon Smith Barney where they will be directors in loan sales and trading reporting to Jonathan Calder, head of loan sales and trading for the firm. The two formerly reported to Eric Rosen, head of the J.P. Morgan loan trading desk where they were part of the team that swept the first place title in LMW's Best Trading Desk Survey this year.

Appleton Papers is looking for a price reduction of 100 basis points on the coupon of its existing $115 million "B" term loan, hoping to follow in the footsteps of other companies that have re-worked pricing in a market with increased demand for paper. But investors are saying that even in an issuer's market, this credit may be the one that does not clear the market. Bankers and buysiders question whether the 1% cut will pass the credit hurdle as underwriter Bear Stearns struggled last fall to get the deal syndicated the first time around. "They may fall flat on their face with this one," said one buysider who passed on the deal initially.Bill Van Den Brandt, spokesman for Appleton Papers, referred calls to CFO Dale Parker, who did not return them by press time.

Lead arrangers Bear Stearns and CIBC World Markets decided last week to increase the bonds and reduce the bank debt on the debt package backing the buyout of Roundy's by Willis Stein & Partners. Bankers said after pricing the original $200 million bond deal last week at 8 7/8%--the low end of the 8 7/8%-9% price spectrum--bankers decided to upsize the bond deal to $225 million and reduce the original term loan "B" part of the bank debt to $225 million from $250 million.

Attorneys representing Bear Stearns and Deutsche Bank were in a New York State Supreme Court last week attempting to sort out a dispute over three fixed-income analysts whose employment status is in limbo. At issue are gardening leave provisions in the analysts' contracts, which prevent them from leaving Bear Stearns for a competitor for a specified period of time, says Ted Meyer, a Deutsche Bank spokesman. Meyer says that while Deutsche Bank had hoped for a resolution last Wednesday, nothing had been settled as of last Thursday evening. Alan Gelb, an attorney with Jones Hirsch Connors & Bull, which is representing Bear Stearns in the matter, did not return calls.

Douglas Colandrea, an investment-grade telecommunications and media analyst, has left Morgan Stanley, where he was an executive director. He will join Bear Stearns in mid-June, according to people at both firms. Colandrea declined comment when reached on his mobile phone. Mike Hyland, head of research at Bear Stearns, did not return calls, nor did Bill Reiland, director of U.S. credit research at Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley has not yet announced its plans regarding his replacement, says an analyst at the firm.

Douglas Colandrea, an investment-grade telecommunications and media analyst, has left Morgan Stanley, where he was an executive director. He will join Bear Stearns in mid-June, according to people at both firms. Colandrea declined comment when reached on his mobile phone. Mike Hyland, head of research at Bear Stearns, did not return calls, nor did Bill Reiland, director of U.S. credit research at Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley has not yet announced its plans regarding his replacement, says an analyst at the firm.

The $84 billion New York City Retirement Systems will soon issue request for proposals for high-yield bond managers to handle about $4 billion for contracts that are set to expire in June 2003, according to BW sister publication Money Management Letter. One individual familiar with the plans said that the searches would be for managers to handle assets from all of the city's five retirement plans: The New York Employees Retirement System, The New York City Teachers' Retirement System, The New York City Police Pension, The New York City Fire Pension, Police & Fire Variable Funds and The New York City Board of Education Retirement. Horatio Sparkes, assistant comptroller for pensions, declined to comment on the situation.

Banc of America Securities has added two senior salesmen to its high-yield desk in New York, according to Tom White, co-head of global high-yield at the firm. They are Kevin Coleman, a former managing director from Morgan Stanley who left last year, and Chris Gray, who White describes as a "very senior salesperson," from Salomon Smith Barney. Gray will join this week. They will report to Mike Meyer, head of global high-yield sales. Gray and Coleman could not be reached. Vincent Lima, head of high-yield sales at Salomon Smith Barney, did not return calls.

Peconic Securities, an inter-dealer broker, has opened a high-yield operation in New York. Also known as "brokers' brokers" or "Street brokers," firms such as Peconic act as middlemen to allow sell-side desks to buy and sell each other's bonds without disclosing pricing information to their competitors. Peconic already has a convertible bond desk in Garden City, N.Y. The high-yield desk has 12 traders so far and aims to have 15-20 when it is fully staffed, say its three co-heads: Rob DePiro, Tommy Keyes, and Joe Salerno. A few of the traders have sell-side experience, while others come from competing Street brokers, such as Garban Intercapital and EuroBrokers. The firm hopes to eventually broker high-grade bonds as well, says DePiro.

Investors are looking closely at two new leveraged buyout deals, including a UBS Warburg-led deal for Herbalife and a UBS Warburg and Bank of America-led deal for The Columbia House Company. As eager as buysiders are to get paper, they are taking a close look at these credits as price remains a concern on the first and collateral coverage a concern on the latter. An investor considering the Herbalife deal said he thinks the deal should get a 100 basis point hike to make up for risks associated with the credit. "I'd like a 100 [basis points] increase but realistically I'll settle for 25 or 50," said the buysider regarding pricing. He noted positively that roughly $175 million in equity has been pumped into the structure. "Pricing is going to have to increase to get this one done. The assets are a draw back," he said.