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Jonathan Hatcher has left the Scottsdale, Ariz., offices of Strong Capital Management, where he was a senior high-yield analyst covering the cable and media sectors, according to an analyst with knowledge of the move. He will join former colleagues at Delaware Investment Advisors in Philadelphia later this month as a v.p. and senior analyst covering financial, high-yield and high-grade credits. The position is believed to be new, though the firm did release at least one analyst earlier this year. Hatcher declined comment, and Ward Tatge, senior v.p. and director of fixed-income research, did not return calls.

Just one year after putting its credit facility in place, Sinclair Broadcasting Group has returned to market to take advantage of the cheaper financing being offered, according to Lucy Rutishauser, treasurer. "The market was favorable to doing this kind of deal," she said, adding that companies with real assets and positive cash flow have been well received. Sinclair also decided to reduce the size of its overall credit from $900 million to $600 million after finding it did not need the extra capacity, she noted.

Roughly $10 million of Encompass Services' bank debt was believed to have traded out of the hands of an original lender in the 65 context, after Standard & Poor's downgraded the company's credit rating from B+ to B. Dealers said the name had fallen from the mid-70s, where it had been quoted before the report was issued last Tuesday.

Mike Smith will join Wachovia Securities today as a high-yield trader, according to a firm insider. It could not be determined whether he is replacing someone or filling a newly created position. Tim Dowling, managing director in high-yield sales and trading at the Charlotte, N.C.-based dealer, did not return calls. Smith resigned from Merrill Lynch earlier this year (BW, 2/10). He could not be reached.

Summer volumes reached exceptionally quiet levels this week with a mere $2.6 billion of investment grade deals coming to market, supplemented by a single high yield deal. The 4-week moving average deal size has dropped to levels as low as we have seen all year and the average rating quality is climbing as the primary market continues to be impacted by the risk aversion, volatility and illiquidity in the secondary market and the ongoing equity weakness.

American Commercial Lines (ACL) recently restructured its credit facility in conjunction with a larger recapitalization sparked by its acquisition by financial services firm Danielson Holding. For the new credit, ACL split its $100 million revolver into a $50 million revolver and a $50 million "A" term loan, according to Jim Wolff, cfo. This was done at the request of its banks, which wanted borrowings under the revolver to better reflect what the company could pay down in one year, he explained.

A pair of high-yield healthcare analysts are advising investors to buy HealthSouth bonds, which were subject to heavy selling recently on rumors that the crossover healthcare provider may have accounting-related skeletons in its closet. However, "the rumors don't seem to be well-founded" in the case of HealthSouth, says Susannah Gray, analyst at Merrill Lynch. Another analyst, who dislikes the company because he says it continually reneged on promises to pay down debt in 2001, also believes the bonds will rally. "But then I'd probably short them," he says.

Qwest Communications' bank debt traded last week in the 69 context, after Standard & Poor's downgraded the company from BB+ to B+ over concerns that it would not be able to meet a bank covenant or handle $6.5 billion of debt coming due in May 2003. Market players quoted wide levels for the paper on July 11, with some citing the market in the low 60s and others calling for bids as high as 70. The name has fallen from the 75-80 range, where it had come to rest after the company admitted that it was the subject of a criminal investigation (LMW, 7/15).

Centennial Communications also got a boost last week, first off the back of Nextel Communications' positive earnings announcement and then from its own stronger quarterly results. Roughly $10 million was believed to have traded in the 66 1/2 67 1/2 context. Levels were recorded in the 68-69 range by the middle of last week.

Some $25 million of a planned $275 million bond offering for Berry Plastics has been shifted to the $305 million "B" term loan. A banker said the bond market has backed up whereas the loan was heavily oversubscribed, prompting the shift in funds. Pricing on the now $330 million institutional tranche also was flexed downward 25 basis points to LIBOR plus 3%. Officials at Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, which are leading the financing package, declined to comment.

After monitoring demand from the credit markets, Community Health Systems decided to take advantage of the current environment through an early refinancing of its bank facility. The former credit was set to mature in 2004, but the markets were favorable, in particular the "B" market, noted Jim Doucette, treasurer. As a result, the "B" piece was increased from $800 million at the start of syndication to $850 million to meet investor appetite, he said. The revolver, however, was reduced from $450 million to $350 million, although Doucette declined to say why.

Levels for Conseco's $1.5 billion in bank debt, which matures in December 2003, dropped from the low 70s to the mid-60s over fears the company has hit a wall with its ongoing restructuring efforts. "The company is falling short of its targets," one dealer said, adding that market players are wondering if Conseco can avoid bankruptcy. Dealers said the paper traded in the 66 1/2-67 1/2 range, down from the 84 1/2 - 85 level where it had been moving in April.