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Investors Management Group, a Des Moines, Iowa manager with $2 billion in taxable fixed-income under management, is preparing to add some 5-7% to its mortgage-backed allocation, taking it from 33% of the portfolio, to nearly 40%. Kathy Beyer, portfolio manager, says the firm recently purchased Ginnie Mae 8% bonds to take its combined MBS and asset-backed allocation to a slight overweight. Beyer says the firm will continue to add 30-year Ginnie 8s if mortgage rates (the Freddie Mac survey of 30-year rates was 7.03% at the time of the interview) climb to the 7.25% range and the economy picks up, diminishing refinancing concerns.

Pitcairn Trust Company will swap 5% of its overall allocation out of agencies into corporates, says Patrick Kennedy, portfolio manager with the Jenkintown, Pa.-based investment firm. Kennedy says he had already begun this trade when spreads widened in June, and that he is looking at completing the rotation if corporate spreads continue to widen by an additional 20-25 basis points.

Brian Rogers, a former high-yield proprietary trader at Credit Suisse First Boston who was dismissed for cause in 1998 for allegedly mismarking a series of long positions on telecom bonds, has reportedly won a National Association of Securities Dealers arbitration against his former firm. A person familiar with the case said an award in his case, Rogers v. CSFB, is currently pending. A spokeswoman at CSFB says that she is constrained from commenting on the specifics of the ruling. She says the firm views the panel's ruling as favorable to CSFB in that it did not say that CSFB either defamed Rogers, or that he was wrongfully terminated. The spokeswoman says that the firm feels it will be fully vindicated at the conclusion of the process. Rachel Glasgow, an arbitration official at the NASD, declined to comment.

Korean financial institutions, active issuers of collateralized loan obligations in their own market, are starting to jump into the U.S. with balance sheet deals to take advantage of cheaper financing.Jerome Cheng, asst. v.p. and structured finance analyst for Moody's Investors Service, said the rating agency is reviewing six dollar- and euro-denominated transactions that are expected to close before year-end, compared to the handful of cross-boarder transactions that have closed in the last four years. Cheng said cheaper interest rates abroad relative to Korea, increased availability of cross currency swaps and interest by U.S.-based financial guarantors to wrap tranches have led to a pick up in the pipeline.

The Barona Tribe of Mission Indians recently landed a $200 million deal to fund the construction of the Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino. Andy Laub, executive v.p. financing of consulting firm VCAT, says the funding will go toward the construction of a hotel and casino. In March of 1999, voters in the State of California amended the state Constitution to allow tribes to enter the gaming industry. Laub says the tribe is seeking financing now due to competition from other tribes building gaming resorts. "The market is competitive, and we wanted to get better market share," he said. Gaming casinos must be built on Indian reservations, and since there's a limited number of space, that fuels the competition from various tribes, Laub added.

Market sources said Goldman Sachs' $125 million term loan "B" for Berkshire Partners' buyout of baby clothes producer William Carter was roughly six times oversubscribed before Goldman shut down the tranche early last week. Bankers said Goldman is expected to scale back allocations on the institutional piece of the deal and pitch a flex down on pricing to a zealous buyside. Brad Bloom, managing director at Berkshire, declined to comment on any decision regarding re-structuring or re-pricing the deal. Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Bull Run Corp. refinanced its credit facility in late July, reducing it to $119 million from $130 million and extending the maturity to July 2002. Frederick Erickson, v.p. finance and cfo, said the company reduced the size of its credit facility because it had paid off outstanding debt. The deal will fund the company's operations. The original deal, signed in 1999, financed the acquisition of Host Communications, a sports marketing business. Erickson said cash flow covenants were "simplified" and that pricing has increased with the new deal as the company experienced a tougher market this time around. He declined to be more specific. Atlanta-based Bull Run, through Host Communications, provides multimedia, promotional and event management services support to universities, athletic conferences, associations and corporations.

Investors question if lead arrangers Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers will pull off the $225 million deal they launched two weeks ago for the buyout of pharmaceutical unit MedPointe, Inc. by Carlyle Group and Cypress Group. One buysider said roughly $100 million in commitments has come into the $150 million "B" tranche of the deal, but, she said, "it will be a stretch," for the banks to fund the remainder. Officials at Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers did not return calls. Calls to Carlyle and Cypress were not returned by press time.

Extended Stay of America's bank debt is reportedly trading at 100 3/8 to 101 out of the box on appetite for a strong credit, say dealers. Dealers said the credit was riding high off a strong syndication, but there was no consensus on whether it would hold at its lofty levels. The Florida-based company provides apartment-style accommodations in a hotel atmosphere to business travelers. Greg Moxley, cfo, declined to comment.

ING Capital Advisors closed its first euro-denominated collateralized debt obligation in Europe and will be looking to do another in the next six months. "The institutional market is growing quickly, although it's starting from a very small base, and we wanted to be recognized as one of the first true CDO players in Europe," said Mike Campbell, portfolio manager.

Interstate Bakeries weathered a tough market last month, closing on $675 million in pro rata credit after carving out a $125 million add on institutional piece. Paul Yarick, treasurer, said the company was able to complete and oversubscribe the big pro rata deck of the deal despite a tough time in the market for most credits as the defensive profile of the food sector makes it more favored lately. "The transaction was put together by J.P. Morgan and they were able to get it done within the time frame," he noted. The deal was launched at the end of June. Originally the structure comprised a $300 million revolver, and a $500 million "A" term loan.

Standardization efforts and increased activity in the loan trading market are drawing nontraditional players to the arena. Smaller shops, mostly distressed debt specialists, are looking at the bank loan market as more clients ask for the product. "There's a lot of money flowing into the distressed market right now," said one big dealer. "There's perceived to be a lot of upside potential, since the market has supposedly bottomed out. Plus there's a lot of liquidity in it; the market isn't talking about a few credits. There's a lot of credits out there that people talk about."