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John Chester, head of high-yield research and the telecom analyst at TD Securities in New York, and Jacob Barker, a senior media analyst, were among the 200 layoffs recently announced by the firm, according to firm spokesman Mike Sherman. The moves have analysts inside the firm and at rival firms questioning TD Securities' commitment to its high-yield business, given that media and telecom have long been the firm's bread and butter. Mark Grotevant, now co-head of research at Credit Suisse First Boston, once led the telecom group at TD Securities. Both Chester and Barker had left the firm as of press time.

Tower Records amended its revolving credit facility early this month, upping its total credit and reducing the size of its pay-downs in anticipation of the holidays. The company got a relaxed pay down schedule along with larger funding availability. Michael Solomon, ceo, explained that the company sought out the amendment several months ago. "We've had a restructuring plan in place since March," he said. "We sought it out to improve terms with the banks and because of positive performance." Tower Records, based in Sacramento, Calif., owns and operates 173 music stores worldwide. Tower markets movies, music, books, and personal electronics. The deal is due to expire in April 2002.

The upcoming multi-currency bond offering by Tyco International (A/Baa1) will feature a sterling tranche--a first for the company, according to a banker on the deal. Tyco officials declined to say how large the issue would be, but analysts say it should eclipse the company's E600 million bonds of '07 and may approach E1 billion. The roadshow is set to begin today.

UBS Warburg has set a bank meeting tentatively for Nov. 8, backing Investcorp's buyout of Schlumberger's Neptune water-meter business, and will be bringing a $190 million facility to the market, comprising a $30 million revolver and $160 million in term loans. A banker familiar with the situation said J.P. Morgan was also considered by Investcorp to lead the financing, but would not provide the loan on such favorable terms in the current tough market. UBS bankers declined to comment. Calls to a J.P. Morgan spokesman were not returned. Investcorp officials in New York referred questions to officials in the London office, who could not be reached.

Another huge issuance week (ended November 1), with $30 billion in debt hitting the market. Highlights of the week include the $6.0 billion two-tranche deal for GMAC, which saw strong demand at a concession to the secondary market. Another notable deal in the market was the $2 billion three-tranche offering from Tenet Healthcare, which capitalized on its recent upgrades to investment grade by both Moody's and Standard & Poors. The average dealsize increased to $860 million as more jumbos came to market. The weighted average maturity also increased, to 11.8 years as issuers looked to take advantage of the decline in Treasury yields to lock in attractive all in rates. With the Treasury's decision to 'suspend' sales of 30-year bonds, there is likely to be a pickup in long dated corporate issuance as investors continue to have demand for duration.

Ametek closed a $300 million deal late last month, replacing a $195 million revolver ahead of schedule and opting for a long-term facility to avoid refinancing in a rockier market. There was another incentive. "A five-year facility is much more favorably received by rating agencies; they know you have the commitment there for the long term," said Deirdre Saunders, v.p. and treasurer. The company had considered a 364-day facility, but ended up going with a five-year deal. Ametek sought out a $250 million deal, but it was oversubscribed by $100 million. The company chose to cut back to $300 million because it didn't need the full amount. Saunders added that the company has also grown through acquisitions, and needed a larger credit to accommodate that.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the senior unsecured debt ratings of Phelps Dodge to Baa3 from Baa2, reflecting the constraints of the company's operating performance and financial flexibility. In light of this, the ability of the company to meaningfully reduce debt levels, improve coverage ratios and restore its balance sheet to historic strengths will be stretched out over a longer time frame. Headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., Phelps Dodge is the world's second largest copper producer. Calls to Ramiro Peru, cfo, were not returned.

Nuveen Investments has moved to fill the vacant spots left by the departure of Jeffrey Maillet and his team of seven, prompting speculation from the market on what direction the firm's loan effort will take. Four managers from Symphony Asset Management, a company acquired by Nuveen earlier this year, will now manage the loan funds. The Symphony team to this point has been focused mainly on fixed-income, fueling speculation that Nuveen is not totally committed to the loan market. "Nuveen is looking to de-emphasize the funds, and rumblings are Maillet was looking for an organization that wants to commit to the loan area, while Nuveen has concerns over the credit quality of [loan] paper," said an industry analyst. Another loan salesperson laughed at the notion of Nuveen de-emphasizing the loan business.

Nomura Securities International, the global leader in yen bond underwriting, will shift its strategic mandate with the goal of making itself into a bulge bracket firm keenly focused on global fixed-income. Stefano Ghersi, the London-based head of international capital markets, says the firm has just begun to build up all of its regional groups and is broadening its product lines for debt capital markets to create a multi-currency origination and distribution platform. "This investment makes sense in the medium-term in terms of mandates and opportunities. Particularly from a debt point-of-view, there has never been a better time, because there is an increasing need for credit as a strategic resource," says Ghersi.

A $15 million auction of Quality Stores paper went off last Wednesday in the low 20s. Dealers report levels a month ago were in the 38 range. The rumored seller of the piece was Union Bank of California. Calls to Dan Brigham, bank spokesman, were not returned.

Managers of floating-rate funds are bracing themselves for retail investors to exit the loan market this quarter and beyond, as rising defaults and the record low LIBOR rate hit overall loan returns and those investors find loan funds may not be the sure bet they thought they were. Eric Jacobson, a Morningstar analyst, noted over the last year, many of the funds have already seen dramatic redemptions. "This is the worst period in the history [of loan funds], because the default problems coexist with the onset of mark-to-market pricing," he explained. With the development of mark-to-market pricing the true value of loans held is revealed, hitting the Net Asset Value figures and increasing volatility.