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Ettore "Reno" Bianchi has left Credit Suisse First Boston, where he was the senior transportation research analyst, and is joining Salomon Smith Barney. Salomon has been looking for an analyst to cover enhanced equipment trust certificates for some time, says an industry official, adding that the bank has been especially active in underwriting EETCs and wants to bulk up its coverage. Salomon was lead manager most recently of US Airways' $458 million EETC in January. Bianchi, who is one of a handful of analysts on the Street that covers the EETC market, confirms his departure from CSFB, declining further comment. Calls to CSFB and Salomon were not returned.

Salomon Smith Barney and Lehman Brothers last week snatched lead arranger roles on a $950 million add-on deal for Tulsa, Okla.-based Williams Communications, topping existing leadsBank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase. Some market sources said SSB and Lehman edged the two commercial banks with the promise of better underwriting execution on future securities deals. Others, however, say they won it the old fashioned way: they pitched cheap pricing.

The downshift in ONI Systems stock, on the back of a general decline in the technology and telecom sector in the past few weeks, has created an investment window for the company's busted convertible bonds, argues Venu Krishna, research analyst at Salomon Smith Barney in New York. But some portfolio managers are having a hard time swallowing this advice, fearful that the market has farther to fall before the bottom is reached. "The paper could go still lower, particularly in this distressed market where odd things can happen," says a buyside portfolio manager..

Stillwater Mining Company signed its $250 million credit facility last week to replace the company's $175 million credit. James Sabala, cfo, said the company was pleased with TD Securities' work as lead arranger and with the terms the company was able to secure. Pricing did flex up on the deal. "TD brought the deal to my attention and they've always been a strong supporter of our business," said Sabala. He declined to comment on the pricing change or whether the deal was oversubscribed. "The deal got done on the terms we wanted, which speaks for itself," Sabala said.

Investor appetite for SpectraSite Holding's credit facility more than doubled the amount from $500 million to $1.3 billion. The amended facility was signed this month, adding about 20 banks to the syndicate. A total of 50 banks are in the amended credit, said Steven Lilly, cfo. "We were quite pleased with the strong investor interest," he said. "The agents were very supportive, and the hold levels went down." SpectraSite, based in Cary, N.C., is one of the largest tower operators in the country. The company is also a leading provider of outsourced network services to the wireless communications and broadcast industries in the U.S. and Canada. The original $500 million facility was to finance the acquisition of 2,000 Nextel towers. The additional financing is for the acquisition of 3,900 towers of SBC Communications.

J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and First Union are in the market with a $500 million credit to refinance an existing deal for Caremark International, a Birmingham, Ala-based pharmacy benefit management company. A banker close to the deal said the credit is structured as a $300 million revolving credit priced at LIBOR plus 2 3/4 % and a $200 million term loan priced at LIBOR plus 3 1/2 % and it is expected to close by the end of March. Officials at Caremark could not be reached by press time. Early market chatter on the deal is that Caremark's institutional tranche is already oversubscribed as institutional players are showing a lot of interest.

J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter launched syndication of a $400 million add-on term loan "C" to Level 3 Communications'existing $1.375 billion credit last week. Bankers noted that the strength of Level 3, reflected in its loans currently trading at 97/98, may prompt institutions to hold on to the existing term loan "B" priced at LIBOR plus 31/2 %. Calls to banks were not returned by press time.

Bank of America and Deutsche Bank held a bank meeting last week to launch syndication of a $150 million add-on to the existing credit of FairPoint Communications, Inc. The new credit adds $75 million to both an existing $67 million term loan "B" and $70 million term loan "C."

Australia's debt capital market is the most sophisticated in the region, and the potential is there for it to grow – but where is the supply going to come from? By Chris Wright

The 2000 year-end was a flurry of MBS activity in Australia. Investors hardly had time to develop their Christmas holiday snaps before National Australia Bank set a new benchmark for Australian originators with the launch of its global RMBS. Hard on its heels were three further term securitization issues each sporting an enticing new asset class. Mark B Johnson reviews the increasingly diverse world of Australian structured finance.

Australia's economic outlook is heavily dependent on the state of the US economy. That's a tough problem for a country that has already faced a year of distortions to its economic data. By Chris Wright.

Last year, the Australian stock market stood firm – no longer are the country's leading indices vulnerable to the vicissitudes of global commodity prices. Australia is now a broad-based services economy and the market is host to a diverse range of innovative, well-managed companies with a deserved reputation for their focus on shareholder value. Mark B Johnson reports.