Securitization People and Markets

Janet Showers, an Institutional Investor-ranked treasury bond strategist in 1999 and 2000, has left Salomon Smith Barney for "personal reasons," according to executives in the firm's quantitative fixed-income research group. Showers, who was co-head of the quantitative research group, the firm's main non-corporates research effort, along with Lakhbir Hayre, did not inform colleagues of her future plans, according to insiders. Hayre, who also runs SSB's mortgage research group, would not comment on the departure, other than to confirm that he is now sole head of the quant group. Showers' duties as chief treasury analyst will be picked up by government bond analyst Bulent Baygun, who also will continue his analysis of derivatives, Hayre adds. Repeated calls to Showers' office and home were not returned as of press time.

Though U.S. corporate bond issuance is on a record pace for the year, Street strategists are showing little concern about this month's supply flood widening spreads. This is primarily because they think issuance will slow down in the second half of the month, which combined withFederal Reserve rate cuts, will keep bonds attractive.

Buy- and sell-side junk pros attribute last week's 4-5 point price drop on cable company United Pan-Europe Communications (Caa1/B-) bonds to concerns over whether the European cable operator will receive the expected E1billion rights issue from its U.S. parent, Liberty Media. Bids on UPC 11.25% of '09 fell from $67.5 to $62.5, after a UPC conference call last Tuesday in which a senior Liberty executive announced that the issue was not finalized, but would be announced in the next five to 10 days. Pros expect the issue to go ahead as planned, returning the price to where it was before the call. They believe Liberty chairman John Malone will prefer the ownership interest that accompanies an equity or, possibly, a convertible deal.

Mike Mullaney, a longtime fixture in the bond management world of Boston, most recently at Boston Partners, where he was head of taxable fixed income, is leaving to take an equity portfolio management job at Fiduciary Trust Corporation in Boston. Mullaney says that after 18 years of bond management, including a 14-year stint at Putnam Investments, he was looking for a new challenge. He says he is looking forward to working with FTC's growing high net-worth individual practice, and that he will start in the "next couple of weeks." Bill Leach, who will run the Boston Partner's bond efforts out of its Los Angeles office, will replace him. Leach did not return a phone call seeking comment by press time.

J.P. Morgan Securities in New York has hired Mike Lanigan, former Chicago fixed-income sales chief Merrill Lynch, to head up its Windy City sales effort. Kevin Finnerty, head of residential mortgages in New York, says Lanigan, who is a managing director, has consistently been among Merrill's top performing MBS sales pros, and will head up the firm's effort in penetrating Midwest accounts. A Merrill MBS official confirmed the departure, but did not who his replacement was. A Merrill spokesman did not return calls seeking comment.

Despite a recent 20 basis point rally in the benchmarkRaytheon 6.75% notes of '07 (Baa3/BB-), some analysts are doubtful the bonds of the giant defense and electric component manufacturer can sustain that strength. The rally followed news that the company will issue close to $1 billion in equity, but concerns continue over a lawsuit and possible Securities and Exchange Commission investigation involving the sale of a business to Washington Group International last year.

Bear Stearns postponed a Web-based reopening of its 6.50% notes of '06 (A2/A) Thursday, reportedly because of technical problems with its platform, according to several buy- and sell-siders. The $250 million deal was to be priced via DAISS, or Dutch auction internet syndication system, Bear Stearns' proprietary online bond trading and distribution platform, last Thursday afternoon. But, potential buyers say a glitch on the site prevented bidding on the bonds or seeing the electronic order "book" develop. Three buysiders who had planned to participate in the offering told BondWeek that Bear Stearns sales people told them there were technical problem with DAISS.

Joe Carson, a sellside economist for nearly two decades, most recently at UBS Warburg prior to its merger with PaineWebber, has joined Alliance Capital Management in New York. As U.S. economist, Carson reports to Selig Sechzer, head of fixed-income economic and risk research in New York. Sechzer describes Carson's duties as "working on a real-time basis with our traders and portfolio managers," as well as putting out a weekly piece for internal use. Carson, who joined two weeks ago, would not comment on his appointment.

Market pros are explaining the ballooning spreads on WorldCom bonds over the last several weeks as a reaction to the expectation it will announce a big ticket bond offering of as much as $10 billion, perhaps as soon as this week. They expect the company to try to take advantage of what observers say was last week's generally positive earnings announcement, and what has lately been a positive climate for high-grade telecom paper. Though outstanding credits have taken a beating already, players expect spreads to widen further once the new deal finally comes to market.