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Jay Weintraub will retire at the end of the month from Merrill Lynch, where he is a managing director and U.S. bank analyst. Weintraub, 54, was formerly the co-head of investment grade research, but was relieved of his managerial responsibilities during a recent reshuffling of the credit research group (BW, 1/13). He has spent 11 years at Merrill. Previously he spent eight years at Salomon Smith Barney. "Coming up on 20 years is a long time on the sell-side. I felt like I wanted to do something else. What it will be I don't know yet," he says.

GenTek saw downward movement in its bank debt levels last week based on news that its senior lenders have decided to block the company from making the Aug. 1 interest payment on its subordinated notes. Gentek's paper began sinking in response and, at last check, had fallen into the mid-60s, traders said. The paper had an average bid of 71 the previous week.

Last week was mildly positive for high-yield through Thursday. Bigger liquid names saw a bit of a bounce, and a pair of new issues with hefty coupons came to market. Here was some notable action.

Betsy Roberts, head of the private placement group at Hartford Investment Management Co., retired recently. Reached at her home in Connecticut, she said she took time off to be with her family. Curt Nyman, v.p., is serving as interim head of the private placement team, but a search is well under way for a permanent successor, says Cynthia Michener, a spokeswoman with the buy-side firm. Nyman, who joined Himco in 1997, reports to Tim Corbett, managing director. Nyman was on holiday and could not be reached. As of June 30, Himco had $80 billion in assets under management, including $2.3 billion in private placement securities.

BNP Paribas and Bank of America have pushed back by more than a week the deadline for commitments on Iasis Healthcare as market conditions turn. But the $463 million refinancing is still on track and has not been postponed or cancelled, according to Carl Whitmer, cfo. "It has been a difficult market over the last couple of weeks but, with the growth of investors in bank debt that need access to quarterly results, we wanted to wait for the results to come out." The due date for commitments is now Aug. 9, and third quarter results were announced Aug. 1.

The International Finance Corporation, which promotes the development of capital markets in developing markets, is seeking a structured product specialist. The new hire will be a member of the IFC's structured finance group in Washington, D.C., according to market officials. Structured finance officials at the IFC were not available for comment and a spokeswoman was unable to respond to inquiries. The new hire will be responsible for structuring, modeling and executing structured transactions in several asset classes including senior debt, mortgages and trade finance receivables.

Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs' refinancing for PETCO Animal Supplies is fully subscribed with the $193 million "B" term loan taken out with a new "C" loan. The new deal cuts the interest spread from LIBOR plus 31/ 2% to LIBOR plus 3%, and PETCO is paying a 15 basis point fee for a capital expenditure amendment, said a banker. The refinancing trend is slowing and this deal could have been done 25 basis points tighter a few weeks ago, he noted.

Yearbook and class ring producer Jostens is expected to maintain stable cash flow, but both Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's are concerned about the company's high leverage following its leveraged buyout by Investcorp in May 2000.

J.P. Morgan and Salomon Smith Barney reportedly are arranging $800 million in bank debt and $680 million in bonds to back the acquisition of Burger King by a consortium of private-equity firms. Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners are purchasing the giant fast-food franchise from Diageo for $2.26 billion, though Goldman Sachs at this point is not confirmed as a lead on the debt financing, according to bankers. The sponsor firms are believed to be putting in $780 million of equity to fund the deal, but officials at the firms either could not be reached or declined to comment on the financing arrangements.

A weaker-than-expected earnings picture for energy service providers should cause buy-siders to reevaluate credits such as Trico Marine Services, Hornbeck Offshore Services and Grey Wolf, according to Christy Parsons, high-yield energy analyst at CIBC World Markets.

Kinetic Systems postponed its $210 million refinancing in conjunction with the decision to temporarily put its initial public offering on hold because proceeds from the IPO were to be used to reduce the company's total debt, said Judy Rogers, corporate treasurer. The Santa Clara, Calif., company decided not to move ahead with its IPO because it could not successfully complete the offering with any degree of certainty due to choppiness in the equity markets, she explained.

Morgan Stanley and UBS Warburg pulled a $230 million refinancing credit for New World Pasta from the market last week after investors balked over the terms of the deal and the company refused to pay the new tougher terms investors were demanding. "The company wanted to repay $55 million of subordinated debt, replace it with senior bank debt and cut pricing," said one buysider, echoing the concerns of fellow investors.