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BNP Paribas is planning to issue one of the first synthetic collateralized debt obligations referenced to portfolios of Japanese credit-default swaps this week and Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan are hot on the French bank's heels with similar deals lined up for the first quarter.

Toronto-based BMO Nesbitt Burns is looking to beef up its equity derivatives trading group in preparation for the firm's first foray into the U.S. equity derivatives market. Patrick Cronin, managing director of the firm's equity derivatives group, said he is looking to hire about 10 equity derivatives professionals, mostly traders, over the next several months. The traders will be split between the Toronto and New York offices.

Deutsche Bank is planning to sell equity-linked notes that will allow investors to gain exposure to an equity index at its low point for the year by using a lookback option. The product marks the first time lookbacks have been packaged into a certificate and sold to retail investors, as they were previously only used by institutional investors, according to Johan Groothaert, managing director and head of equity structured products and alternative investments in London. Several rivals corroborated the claim and said the product appears to be the first of its kind.

Commerzbank Securities is touting several foreign exchange option strategies to take advantage of its expectation that the strength in the U.S. dollar is a temporary blip, sparked by military successes in Afghanistan. Fundamental weakness in the U.S. economy will see a reversion to a lower greenback against the euro, the bank believes.

Enron Credit has virtually shut down in the wake of the agreement by Dynegy to acquire its parent Enron, according to an official at the firm in London. The team has all but stopped trading because counterparties are wary of taking on additional exposure to the company, particularly because of uncertainty about the future role of Enron Credit within the merged entity. Dynegy has stated it wants to concentrate on Enron's core businesses and market professionals said it is unlikely Enron Credit would meet that description. Alex Parsons, a spokesman at Enron in London, did not return calls by press time.

J. David Rogers, a former Goldman Sachs equity derivatives star, has started a hedge fund firm called JD Capital Management and is looking to hire a staff of about 22, most of whom will be traders and researchers. The Greenwich, Conn.-based firm plans to launch the multi-strategy hedge fund in February and hopes to raise USD350-400 million, Rogers said. He declined to detail the fund's current size of assets.

AXA Investment Managers' recently launched Asian absolute return fund plans to enter equity arbitrage opportunities, such as warrants trading at a discount to the underlying, as these offer free money, according to Andrew Alexander, managing director of alternative investment strategy for Asia Pacific in Hong Kong. In these trades the hedge fund can buy the American-style warrant and sell it instantly at a premium. Alexander declined to comment on a specific trade but said a recent example of this arbitrage opportunity is Want Want, the snack food manufacturer.

Dedicated electronic platform Volbroker plans to start brokering emerging market foreign exchange derivatives after the merger with TFS-ICAP. Mike Leibowitz, managing director at TFS-ICAP, said the firm's long-term plan is to put all its foreign exchange derivatives on Volbroker. However he continued that Asian, Eastern European and Latin American currencies would be a priority because of the large volumes ICAP brokers through the voice market. He declined to set a timeframe as the merger does not come into effect until Dec. 1.

There have been major changes to accounting standards in Japan which, by the time they have all been implemented will have brought Japanese accounting standards broadly into line with international norms. These changes are comprehensive and include the introduction of fair value--or mark-to-market--accounting. This last change, although seemingly innocuous will be particularly powerful in its impact.

Kokusai Asset Management, with JPY2.4 trillion (USD19.8 billion) under management, is considering launching a Japanese or global market neutral fund next year both of which would use derivatives, and would be its first foray into alternative investment management, according to an official in the planning department in Tokyo.

Shinko Securities is planning to sell credit-default swaps next year. "It's the biggest potential market," said Toshihiro Ikejima, trader in the fixed income securities department in Tokyo. The firm, which currently sells credit-linked notes, said its clients--mainly domestic corporates and banks--are starting to inquire about the product for hedging purposes. Ikejima continued that it is doubtful that it would look to become a market maker, likely preferring to focus on customer business. He declined to comment if the bank will hire additional marketers for the effort.

Moody's Investors Service is seeking to expand its structured finance teams in Europe with an emphasis on hiring for the London, Milan, Paris and Frankfurt offices, according to Andrew Farr, the agency's structured finance recruitment specialist in London. The credit derivatives, collateralized debt obligation and asset-backed securities teams will all increase their headcount. The additions are being made in response to the explosive growth in demand for structured deals, he added.