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Westdeutsche Landesbank has started focusing its credit derivative efforts in Tokyo on structuring large-sized credit-linked loans in Japan averaging around USD50-100 million per transaction. "We're developing an investment base," noted Hiroshi Fukuzawa, head of credit derivatives in Tokyo. He continued that the firm, which sold its first credit-linked loan structure last year, has seen growing interest and has begun pushing the structure. WestLB will look to sell 5-10 credit-linked loans by year-end. "It's my hope," said Fukuzawa.

"Our attorneys are advising me it is not as straightforward as it might seem." --Paul Muellner, cfo of John Q. Hammons Hotels in Springfield, Mo., commenting on his plans to enter the company's first interest-rate swap. For complete story, click here.

Wyndham International's bank debt levels fell dramatically after the company pulled its downsized bond deal. Traders quoted the name's increasing rate loan in the 91-94 level down from 95-98 range and the "B" term loan at the 90-93 level from a 93 trade earlier this week. No trades could be confirmed. Investors are trying to evaluate the company's next step. Calls to the company were not returned, but the company released a statement saying that it "found the market conditions not deep enough to issue the notes on terms that made sense to the company and its shareholders."

The mystery has been solved. After the Loan Market WeekÕs Best Trading Desk Awards, Salomon Smith BarneyÕs award for most improved distressed desk was missing. No one was there to accept the award so it was left on the awards table. Word is that dealers from J.P. Morgan, who had won an armful of awards that night, assumed that SalomonÕs award was just another one of theirs and mistakenly swiped it. They later returned it to Salomon.

The Deal Roll-off Chart, provided by Capital DATA Loanware, lists the 50 largest leveraged credit facilities in the U.S. market that are due to mature in the coming month. It is designed to provide a look at potentially available money in the market as credits are renewed or retired.

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.

Piedmont Capital Management will look to add some $15 million to the beaten up utility sector, using either new cash as it comes in, or proceeds from U.S. callable agencies as they mature or receive attractive bids. Walter Campbell, portfolio manager of $100 million in taxable fixed-income, says he is attracted by the sizeable yields available in the sector. He believes execution risk is already priced into the credits, as they look to sell assets to reduce leverage. He does not know when he will receive new cash, however, as most of his clients are small insurance companies, whose cash flows are unpredictable, he says.

Carlos Veintemillas, portfolio manager with Texas Permanent School Fund, will rotate $225 million, or 3% of the firm's portfolio, from Treasuries into agencies, in order to pick up additional yield, bring his debenture allocation more in line with the index and reduce duration. He says the move will be triggered once 10-year agency bonds--which last Monday traded at a spread in the low 50's over the curve--widen by 20 basis points to a 70 basis point spread. By doing so, Veintemillas also wants to bring his agency allocation from 7% to 10%, closer to the 12% weighting of the Lehman Brothers aggragate index.

Bear Stearns has won the first portion of a legal conflict withDeutsche Bank over the employment status of a group of three analysts led byMarion Boucher-Soper (BW, 5/27), but the litigation is far from over as Bear Stearns is seeking damages from Boucher-Soper and her two colleagues.

Isle of Capri is planning to use proceeds from a Merrill Lynch-led equity offering to pay down at least $75 million in outstanding bank debt on the company's recently signed senior credit facility. But the equity market placed a bump in the road to execution of those plans last week, as the company's share price dropped from $20 to $16.50. The hit was prompted by the Illinois legislature's decision to raise gaming taxes, and it came despite the fact that Isle of Capri has no operations in the state.John Bakley, senior director of finance, said before the share-price dive that the company is looking to tap the equity markets to take advantage of recent higher valuations on the company's stock to pay down bank debt. "We want to become less levered," he said. He declined to comment after the drop on whether the offering would proceed.

Lombard Odier, which manages £2 billion in fixed-income assets from its London office, has added two analysts in response to growth. Gary Brecknell, who joins from Bear Stearns, will cover financials and Darren Stevens, who joins from Standard Chartered Bank, will cover industrials. Both report to Martin Squires, head of credit research, says Paul Osborne, head of U.K. institutional clients. "As the business grows, we need more credit analysts with specialities," says Osborne of the hires. Lombard Odier, with the addition of Brecknell and Stevens, now has eight analysts covering credit globally. There are no immediate plans for additional hires.

Catherine Smith, a high-yield bond portfolio manager at Wellington Management Co., has resigned after 17 years for personal reasons, according to BW sister publication Money Management Letter. Lisa Finkel, spokeswoman for Wellington, declined to comment, and Smith could not be reached. Christopher Jones, a high-yield bond manager at the firm for just under a decade, has taken over Smith's duties. At last count, Wellington managed about $8 billion in junk bonds. Dan Bryant, cio for the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana and one of Wellington's clients, said the firm notified him in advance of Smith's resignation, and that the fund has no plans to replace her. Wellington handles a $128 million junk bond mandate for the plan, as well as a $151 million mid-cap growth mandate.