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A $5 million piece of VoiceStream Wireless bank debt traded last week as dealers waved off the recent announcement of Deutsche Telekom's fourth quarter earnings losses and any harm that might do to its bid for Voicestream. Dealers reported a trade of the "A" tranche at 99 3/8, which is up slightly for the name. Calls to Voicestream, based in Bellevue, Wash., were not returned by press time.

Wellsford Real Properties recently used a new $32 million credit to refinance debt on a maturing $27 million construction loan. The Manhattan development and lending firm also needed capital to finance the third phase of redeveloping its Silver Mesa apartments into an upscale, luxury condominium community in Denver, said James Burns, cfo. Moreover, the company only had $700,000 remaining on its old loan and the terms of the financing did not allow for condominium construction. Wellsford eschewed the use of its credit facility because it wanted to remain nimble in case of future investment opportunities, noted Mark Cantulupi, chief accounting officer. "To the extent that we can, we look to keep the powder dry on our revolver," he said.

Judith Putterman, a veteran corporate bond trader, has joined Fuji Securities in New York to start a corporate bond trading desk. Putterman, who started last week, most recently worked at Coastal Securities, and prior to that, Oppenheimer & Co. At Fuji, she will specialize in covering and providing liquidity to institutional accounts, and will focus primarily on investment-grade credits in the secondary market. Bernie Jensen, who will be Putterman's supervisor, said the hire was made to complement Fuji in its core areas of government and agency bond trading. Jensen would not comment when asked if this was the first of a series of hires in this area.

Thunelius is director of the long-term fixed income group and senior portfolio manager for the taxable-fixed income group. His group of 12 portfolio managers oversees $5 billion in taxable-fixed income that runs the gamut from low-duration Treasury funds to generic mortgage-backed security funds. He received a Bachelors degree from Dowling College in Long Island, N.Y., with a major in finance. Here, Thunelius, who has been at Dreyfus for 12 years, talks mostly about the $430 million Premier Core Bond Fund.

A $25 million piece of Xerox Corporation's bank debt was unloaded last week, and dealers tagged the buyer as a Japanese bank looking to play the bank debt against the company's bonds. The debt traded in the low 60s, essentially flat to where it has been. The copier-based company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. A spokesman declined to comment on the bank debt levels and said that officials will give a report of the fourth quarter earnings today.

Insight Communications' "B" tranche traded up to 100 1/8 early last week, with an additional trade hitting the par 5/8 level. "It's a good asset with little supply in the market," a dealer said the reason. Also helping levels was the relief on the "B" tranche, which dealers said had been oversubscribed. They said that the levels have been stable. The New York City-based cable company has expanded into two-way broadband networks. It serves 1.5 million subscribers mainly in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Calls to the company were not returned by press time.

Rick Lazio, former member of the House of Representatives and defeated senatorial candidate in New York, is being discussed in industry circles as somebody who might be considered to replace the current comptroller of the currency if the Bush Administration decides to replace him. Incumbent John Hawke is a Democrat. The White House press office refuses to talk about appointments before they are announced.

Dresdner Kleinwort Benson's union with Wasserstein Perella & Co has commercial bankers at Dresdner expecting to bear the brunt of cuts. A Dresdner insider said North American operations can expect to undergo the most structural changes, with the lending group being the hardest hit. Traditional lending will become more selective and disciplined, whereas historically, lending was more arbitrary, he added. "I think bankers in commercial banking would have a little problem" more than anyone else, he said.

A $15 million piece Loews Cineplex's bank debt traded in the mid-70s early last week. Traders agreed that the company's announcement that it would be closing more than 100 of its locations shouldn't affect levels. "It's no surprise. Everyone realized the theater industry had reached over capacity," a market watcher said. One dealer alluded to a bank meeting held last Tuesday afternoon, but didn't elaborate on the nature of it. The company has issued statements saying that a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is a possible outcome. Calls to the New York City-based company were not returned by press time.

The rumored bond deal that sent trade levels for Allied Waste into the high 97 range two weeks ago came through last week, as the company announced a $600 million bond deal that will ratably pay down portions of tranches "A," "B" and "C." Dealers said last week that the company may increase the amount to $1 billion. There were a number of trades, each for $5 million, on the Street last Monday at 983Ž 8. Calls to the company were not returned by press time.

A $25 million piece of AT&T pro rata paper traded late last week at 99 3/8 . According to dealers, the level is on target with recent trades. One market watcher said the paper had been quoted at 99 1/4 the day before the trade. "A couple huge orders had come through [last week], which is why the prices are up," a trader involved in the deal said. "I think it will stay at this level because people aren't as aggressive."