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Citigroup Asset Management, which manages E5 billion in fixed-income assets through its London-based group, at the last minute pulled its order for Deutsche Telekom bonds, which were issued late last month. "We were not impressed with Deutsche Telekom's arrogance of not writing down debt and not addressing bondholders' concerns. We had an order in there, but pulled it. Our analyst was of opinion it's one to avoid," says Denis Mangan, director and head of European fixed income. Instead, Citi bought Imperial Tobacco's new issue last week and plans to buy Renault paper once it hits the market. Salomon Smith Barney was one of the co-leads on Deutsche Telekom's E5 billion deal.

Investor's Management Group may look to increase its exposure to collateralized mortgage obligations with premium coupons, on the view that rising interest rates will lead to extension risk. Kathy Beyer, manager of $5 billion in taxable fixed-income, says the firm may add up to 3% of its $160 million Core Bond Composite fund, or $4.8 million, to the asset class, while reducing its cash position. Mortgage spreads on PACs were 100-125 over Treasuries last Tuesday, and Beyer says she expects those spreads to widen, as corporate bonds investors who have sought safety in mortgages gradually shift out of the asset class. An additional 20 basis points of widening would trigger the move, she says.

The new Fleet HomeLink commercials from FleetBoston Financial having been running steady over the past two weeks as the Red Sox and Yankees squared off in seven games in 11 days. An informal tally appears to have Jeter having more lines than Nomar, which isn't right because Nomar's stats are slightly better so far this year. It's wicked unfair.

Napoleon Rodgers, portfolio manager withAlpha Capital Management, says he is going to rotate 15% of the firm's portfolio, or $15 million, out of Treasuries into mortgage pass-throughs, as he expects mortgages will outperform Treasuries with the prospect of stable or slightly higher interest rates. There is no trigger for this move besides the anticipation that, although the Federal Reserve may not tighten this year, the recovery should cause long rates to move up relative to short rates, hence shaping the curve in a more positive slope, he says. As a result, mortgage products should perform well due to their negative convexity and offer additional yield pick-up, he says.

This chart, provided by Citibank/Salomon Smith Barney Inc., tracks bid-ask prices for par credit facilities that trade in the secondary market. It also tracks facility amounts, ratings, pricing and maturities.

RailAmerica has refinanced its credit line to lock in interest-rate savings on its new $475 million credit facility. The company wanted to replace financing that was entered into when the interest rates were higher, explained Bennett Marks, senior v.p. and cfo, and Michael Howe, v.p. and treasurer. The company was able to reduce pricing on its term loans by 75 basis points and pay down part of its interest-rate hedge after improving its credit profile and performance.

Goldman Sachs' $250 million "B" tranche for Venetian Casinos was allocated late last week, with bankers and buysiders expecting pieces to be on the skinny side. The deal was more than five times oversubscribed, according to bankers, and instead of being upsized, pricing was slashed 1/2% to LIBOR plus 3%. The deal also includes a $125 million pro rata piece, which has a $50 million delayed draw term loan. Bankers said it is not too surprising the credit was so oversubscribed. Despite concern over Vegas-based hotels, Venetian is a solid operation, said bankers and analysts.

A small piece of Wyndham International's "B" term loan traded in the 95 range in retail last Tuesday, according to dealers, as the completion of the company's planned bond deal comes into question. Some traders quoted the paper as low as 92-94 down from the 971/ 2-98 range, where it had been trading before Moody's Investors Service gave the company's planned $750 million of senior subordinated notes a Caa1 rating. The new notes are earmarked to pay down the company's increasing-rate loan and roughly 10-15% of the name's "B" term paper. No trades were reported on the IRL's and the market was quoted wide at 95-98.

The Cooper Companies tripled the size of its KeyBank-led credit facility, adding a term loan tranche to the composition of its bank deal. The new $225 million credit, comprising a $150 million, three-year revolver and a $75 million, five-year term loan, replaces a $75 million revolver set to mature in 2006. The company needed to pay off $62 million under its existing credit line and pay £44 million in notes owed to Biocompatibles International as a result of Cooper's purchase of Biocompatibles Eyecare in February. These capital expenditures prompted a redo of its entire credit line package, said Norris Battin, v.p. of investor relations. The company tripled its size after evaluating its capital needs going forward, he noted. The credit was oversubscribed.

Gregg Mattner has left Barclays Global Investors (BGI) where he was a principal who oversaw $60 billion in passively managed fixed-income assets. He says that when BGI made a decision last year to emphasize active rather than passive management and have him report to Peter Wilson, his fourth boss in 11 months, he became disenchanted with his role at the firm. "My most recent responsibilities were significantly different from what I was initially hired to do," he says. Mattner says he resigned. Calls to Wilson were referred to Tom Taggart, BGI spokesman, who characterizes the decision as a mutual one.