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Alison Falls, director of research and chief credit strategist for Banc of America Securities, has retired after 22 years at the firm. She did not return calls left at her home in Ohio. Falls reported jointly to Tom White, global head of high-yield trading, sales, and research in New York, and Jim Kelligrew, head of global high-grade fixed income in Charlotte, N.C. White says the firm will be naming her replacement within a few days. He would not comment on whether the firm was considering someone from outside, but said "we have several very talented people internally who we are considering for her role." In the interim, Michael Johnson, a principal, has taken over Falls' investment-grade strategy responsibilities. Ali Balali, also a principal, has been leading high-yield strategy and overseeing the Banc of America Large Cap high-yield index that Falls developed. Johnson and Balali are believed to be candidates to replace Falls, possibly as co-heads. They referred questions regarding their present and possible future roles to Kelligrew and White.

A group of bondholders has formed a committee that has hatched a plan to seize control of the restructuring negotiations surrounding financially distressed Dutch cable operator United Pan-Europe Communications, from its parent, UnitedGlobalCom (UGC), says a member of the committee. The bondholders, representing some $2.2 billion of $5.5 billion in outstanding high-yield bonds, formed the five-person committee last week. Early this week, the committee will appoint a financial advisor who will seek a strategic investor to pay down a E1 billion exchangeable loan held by UGC. The committee-member says he expects UGC to use the loan, along with its one-third share of UPC's bonds, to gain a disproportionate stake of the equity in a planned debt-for-equity swap. Eliminating the loan would shift the equity balance to the bond holders. The committee member says that if negotiations fail and UPC goes into receivership, a court-appointed trustee will allow the payment of the loan as it will be in the interest of the bondholders.

A buy-side and sell-side analyst are divided on whether Lyondell Chemical Company's planned purchase of Occidental Petroleum's 29.5% stake in Equistar Chemicals will benefit Lyondell bondholders. And, in an unusual turn of events, it is the sell-sider who is the bear. "Because any significant decrease in Lyondell's debt depends on an increase in Equistar's currently depressed levels of profitability, which may be a long time in the future, I'd not be buying bonds on this news," says Mark Hughes, head of European high-yield research at BNP Paribas. He argues that, given the almost six times leverage on a senior secured basis, Lyondell's 9.875% notes of '07 (Ba3/BB) should be bid at 95.625. Last Tuesday, they were some four points higher, at a 99.5 bid, two points higher than they were before the deal was announced.

The investment-grade market is churning out two big-name deals as a potential $4 billion credit for Hewlett-Packard Company launches at the end of this week and a $2.5 billion refinancing for Walt Disney is already in the market. Citibank/ Salomon Smith Barney has a hand in both loans, leading the H-P deal with J.P. Morgan.

Computer Associates has put on hold plans to refinance approximately $2.5 billion in debt, following a Moody's Investors Service review that put the software and information technology provider on watch for downgrade. The Moody's decision surprised and disappointed CA, which was hoping to take advantage of low interest rates to complete the financing, said a CA official. CA is echoing concerns of other corporations the ratings agency is being overzealous following the Enron debacle.

Credit Suisse First Boston and Citibank are preparing a $350 million acquisition credit for St. Louis-based Express Scripts, backing the company's acquisition of New Jersey-based National Prescription Administrators. The total purchase price for the acquisition is $515 million, with cash on hand and a share issuance contributing the remainder, according to a banker. The credit is a $350 million, six-year "B" loan, but it could not be determined what deal the new tranche was being tacked on to. Pricing and timing of a bank meeting had not been determined by press time last week.

CIBC has become the first offshore borrower to access the Singapore market with a new transaction this year, by launching a S$100m three year bond via Barclays Capital. The issue marks CIBC's debut in the Singapore market. "The transaction has been priced fairly against benchmarks," said a banker at Barclays. "There have been a lot of different buyers in the market for short dated bonds, and we saw participation from treasury accounts, corporate buyers and some asset managers." He added that a day after launch, 75% of the transaction had been sold to local investors.

Korea Hyundai Translead, the US subsidiary of Hyundai Motor, launched a $100m three year floating rate note (FRN) issue through a diverse syndicate group this week. HSBC and Fleet Boston were joint lead managers for the issue, which was guaranteed by the borrower's Korean parent company.

Securitisation in the Philippines is promising to take off this year with a new international deal in the offing and the government pushing for the development of a domestic market. HypoVereinsbank is close to launching a rare Philippine securitisation, a $170m deal backed by equity rental payments received by the consortium that has built an extension to Manila's light railway system.

National Power Corp (Napocor), the Philippine power utility, has cancelled its $500m seven year bond issue, after what bankers described as "complete indifference by Asian investors towards the deal as a result of uneconomic pricing levels". And in another twist to the Napocor story, the sovereign is now considering launching a bond in its own name so that it can on-lend the proceeds to the indebted utility. The transaction would probably be the same $500m size.

Goldman Sachs and joint lead manager Merrill Lynch completed the sale of $871m of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) ADRs last Friday morning Hong Kong time, after the close of the New York market on Thursday evening. The deal was oversubscribed by 1.6 times and was a welcome pre-Chinese new year success for the sellers and arrangers alike.

Crédit Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA) pulled off a notable coup yesterday (Thursday) by completing a new fund raising for Technology Resources Industries (TRI) despite difficult global market conditions. The deal, which attracted just over $233m from institutions around the world, is part of the recapitalisation and restructuring of TRI, Malaysia's second largest cellular phone company. Bankers close to the deal said the book was of extremely high quality.