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      <title>Latest News Current Issue</title>
      <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/index.html</link>
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      <copyright>Copyright 2008 Leveraged Finance News. All rights Reserved.</copyright>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:50:25 EDT</pubDate>
      <lastBuildDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:50:25 EDT</lastBuildDate>
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         <title><![CDATA[NY Fed Holds Second CDS Meeting ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is holding a meeting today to discuss the creation of a central counterparty for the $55 trillion credit default swaps market...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186381-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Banks To Price $1B In Bonds For Apria Deal ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Bank of America, Wachovia and Barclays are planning to issue $1 billion in senior secured notes for Lake Forest, Calif.-based Apria Healthcare to help fund the company's buyout by Blackstone...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186444-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Norwest Funds Olympus' Norwesco Buy]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Norwest Mezzanine Partners, a middle market-focused mezzanine investor firm based in Minneapolis, invested $40.6 million in debt and equity to fund Olympus Partners' acquisition of Norwesco Inc...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186353-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Markit Develops Online Tool To ID Loans]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Markit will introduce an online loan identification tool for market participants...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186357-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[CME, Citadel Team Up For CDS Clearing Facility]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[CME Group, the world's largest derivatives exchange, and hedge fund Citadel Investment Group said on Tuesday they have teamed up to create a central counterparty clearing facility for credit default swaps...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186346-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Fed Looks To Buttress CP Market]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday introduced a program designed to improve liquidity in the commercial paper market which has seen a drop in willing lenders over recent weeks...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186324-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Cash Loan Investors To LCDX: Drop Dead]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[If cash loan market participants got their hands on a DeLorean and a flux capacitor, some might use it to travel back to May 22, 2007 and stop the launch of the Markit LCDX index...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186275-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Jefferies Hires Middle East Trader]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Jefferies &amp; Co. has hired Kelly R. Holloway as a senior vice president in the firm's fixed income group, where he will focus on selling and trading U.S. agency bonds, corporate bonds, mortgage-backed and other fixed income securities for institutional investors based in the Middle East...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186282-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Citigroup Reorganizes European DCM ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Citigroup has reorganized its debt capital markets group in Europe into three areas. This is the first structural change and management reshuffle in the business since Eirik Winter took charge of the division in July...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186284-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[CDS Clearinghouse Launch Delayed]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The release of the long-awaited credit derivatives clearinghouse has been pushed back to the end of the year or early next year because of the fallout from the recent bank failures...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186168-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Citi, Wells Spar Over Wachovia]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Wells Fargo and Citigroup have started a game of tug of war over Wachovia. Wells Fargo earlier today announced that it had agreed to buy Wachovia for more than $16 billion, routing a U.S. government-backed Citi bid for some of Wachovia's assets...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186169-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[House Passes Bailout Bill]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The House today approved the bill to stabilize the financial markets approving with a vote of 263 to 171. Having cleared the Senate on Wednesday with a vote of 74 to 25, the bill now heads to the White House...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186242-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[NewOak Brings In New Blood ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[NewOak Capital has tapped industry heavyweights for its integrated advisory/asset management/structured product firm...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186138-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Lehman's London Group Cuts 750 Jobs]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Lehman Brothers' London-based business will cut 750 jobs after failing to find a buyer for its European debt and credit unit, according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186139-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[PE Eyes Budget Restaurant Deals]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[While the general public may be tightening its purse strings, private equity firms are trying to take advantage of any viable opportunities in the retail industry... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186112-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Barclays Appoints New U.S. Leadership ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Barclays Capital has named a new management team made up of its own veterans and those of recently acquired Lehman Brothers, a source familiar with the firm has confirmed... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186080-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Ramius Creates Credit Trading Group ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[New York-based Ramius, a privately owned global alternative investment firm with approximately $11 billion in assets under management, has hired a chief of distressed investments and two other professionals to head up a new credit trading group... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186082-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Apollo Is On The Hook For Huntsman Buy]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Hexion Specialty Chemicals, a Columbus, Ohio-based portfolio company of Apollo Global Management, was ordered Monday to complete its $10.6 billion acquisition of Texas chemicals company Huntsman...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186086-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Largest U.S. Chevy Dealer Files For Chapter 11]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Bill Heard Enterprises, the largest U.S. Chevrolet dealer with 13 locations across six states, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Columbus, Ga., company filed Sunday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Decatur, Alabama, citing a declining automobile market...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186053-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Citi Picks Up Most Of Wachovia's Assets]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[In yet more consolidation in the banking industry, Wachovia agreed to sell the bulk of its assets to Citigroup, unloading its retail bank, its investment bank and its wealth management operations in a $2.16 billion deal... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186056-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[UBS Names New Joint Head Of Fixed Income ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[UBS has appointed Jeffrey Mayer joint global head of fixed income, currencies and commodities, the bank said today. He joins Carsten Kengeter in overseeing all fixed income products including credit fixed income, structured products, commodities and foreign exchange...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186060-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Niemann Rejoins Houlihan Lokey]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Matthew Niemann, who left Houlihan Lokey for an affiliate of private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, has rejoined the investment bank as co-head of the Midwest restructuring practice...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/186064-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Banks Add On To Quicksilver Facility]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Credit Suisse and BofA could add as much as $400 million to a credit facility for Fort Worth, Texas-based natural gas and crude oil producer Quicksilver Resources...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185850-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Europe's PMs Favor Cheap Secondary Loans]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The bolt from the blue that was Lehman Brothers/Merrill Lynch has only further enhanced the year's ongoing trend in the European leveraged loan market: the attractiveness of the secondary market over the primary... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185853-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[S&amp;P: Worst Case? Default Rate Reaches Nearly 25% ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Based on their estimates of a worst-case scenario, the three-year cumulative default rate among speculative-grade nonfinancial companies will rise to 23.2% between 2008 and 2010, Standard &amp; Poor's analysts said today. This would be the worst on record since 1981...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185857-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[RBC Capital Markets Names New Co-CEOs]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[RBC Capital Markets, the corporate and investment banking arm of Royal Bank of Canada, has appointed Doug McGregor chairman and co-CEO, and Mark Standish president and co-CEO...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185825-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[S&amp;P: Potential Downgrades At Three-Year High]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The number of issuers at risk of a downgrade has risen to 758 this month, an increase of 11 from August and the highest potential downgrade count since September 2005. September's list of companies potentially headed for a downgrade contains 120 more...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185828-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Morgan Joseph Adds Restructuring Group ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Investment banking firm Morgan Joseph added a seven-person financial restructuring group from Alvarez &amp; Marsal...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185803-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[NY To Regulate CDS Market, Paterson Urges Fed To Do The Same]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[New York Governor David Paterson said yesterday the state will begin regulating the credit default swaps market on Jan. 1 and that the federal government should follow suit. The $62 trillion market has gone mostly unregulated since its inception a decade ago...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185813-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[MFC Global Adds McCafferty For HY]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[MFC Global Investment Management has hired Dennis McCafferty as an analyst on its high yield and strategic bond groups. He will be responsible for evaluating high yield investment opportunities and... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185772-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Moody's Downgrades McClatchy]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Declining advertising revenue is behind Moody's Investors Service's downgrade of newspaper giant McClatchy's corporate family and probability of default rating to B2 from Ba3. The rating agency expects ad revenue to continue to decline...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185648-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[PE Firms Review Lehman Business Unit]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Bain Capital and Hellman &amp; Friedman are seeking to purchase Lehman Brothers' investment management business in a deal that could be valued at more than $4 billion...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185743-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[BofA, Wachovia Prep $735M Facility For Herff Jones]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Bank of America and Wachovia are gearing up to launch a $735 million credit facility for Herff Jones, an Indianapolis-based provider of commemorative items...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185624-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[PNC, JPMorgan, RBS Ready $500M Deal For Wabtec]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[PNC Capital Markets, JPMorgan and RBS Greenwich Capital are arranging a $500 million credit facility for Wabtec Corporation, a Wilmerding, Pa.-based technology provider for the rail and shipping industries...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185625-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Barclays Buys U.S. Debt Presence]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Just when you thought Lehman Brothers had bitten the dust, Barclays announced that it would buy the bankrupt investment bank's North American I-banking and capital markets assets for $250 million. If approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the deal would improve Barclays presence in U.S. high yield loan and bond underwriting...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185601-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[DB's Malas Joins Broadpoint As DCM Head]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Broadpoint Capital has hired Keith "Lex" Malas as managing director and head of its debt capital markets origination group. He will report to Joseph Mannello...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185602-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Lehman, Merrill Loan Trades Will Close]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Leveraged loan traders can rest assured that their open trades with Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch will either close or be grandfathered into another firm's book of business...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185607-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[DB Rejiggers CM; Fedorcik Takes Global Role]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[After losing its global head of leveraged debt capital markets to Bank of America, Deutsche Bank has appointed firm veteran Mark Fedorcik to the role. Fedorcik will head up all of Deutsche's leveraged finance...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185565-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[New World Of I-Banks Will Underwrite HY]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The credit markets are undergoing a massive change that will reshape them. High Yield and leveraged loan investors currently hibernating will wake up to a different field of debt underwriters...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185576-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Somber Days At Storied Investment Bank]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Storied US brokerage firm Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today, the latest casualty of a credit crisis that has rocked Wall Street firms to their core. It may be Wall Street's largest...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185541-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[GSC Group Makes Cuts In CLO Staff]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Falling victim to current difficult market conditions, the GSC Group's U.S. CLO team let go of some of its staff...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185436-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Credit Suisse Preps $425M TLB For JDA]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Credit Suisse is gearing up to launch a $425 million term loan B for JDA Software, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based software provider...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185411-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Steeply Discounted Deals Open Fall Season ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Like the new version of "Beverly Hills 90210," the high yield primary market is just not the same this time around. The new issues that have kicked off the fall season of the junk bond market are smaller and steeply discounted, as issuers faced fearful investors... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185412-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[BCE Underwriters Awaiting Alltel Close ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The underwrites of BCE's massive $33.3 billion debt package are planning to wait until the final closing of Verizon's acquisition of rural phone service provider Alltel...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185418-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Clear Channel Pricing Delayed, Downsized ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The underwriters for a bond offering from Clear Channel Communications have downsized the issue to $325 million from $980 million. The 10.75% notes, priced at the deep discount of 71 to 72, were scheduled to price Monday or Tuesday...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185391-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Calyon To Cut 500 Jobs ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[French banking giant Credit Agricole will cut about 500 jobs in its subsidiary Calyon by the end of the year...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185398-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[JPMorgan Asset Management Hires Fixed Income CIO]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[JPMorgan Asset Management has hired former Schroders fixed income head Bob Michele as its new global chief investment officer of fixed income...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185369-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[MS Investment Arm Names New Loan Head]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Morgan Stanley Investment Management has added Dennis Schaney as managing director and head of high yield and senior loans. The firm snagged Schaney from Credit Suisse Asset Management...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185333-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Pali Capital Adds Three To HY Team]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Pali Capital has expanded its high yield group with two new salesmen and a credit specialist. It added H. Michael Miller and Stephen Dodd as directors of high yield sales, and Kevin Ziets as a director and credit sector specialist... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185335-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[UBS Snags Kengeter from Goldman Sachs ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[UBS, which has been saddled with about $44 billion in credit-related write-downs over the past four quarters, has poached Carsten Kengeter from Goldman Sachs in a sure-fired attempt to help shore up its balance sheet...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185344-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Wachovia Taps Bear Vet For Fixed Income]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Wachovia Securities has hired Craig Overlander as managing director and global head of fixed income. Overlander will report to Ben Williams, head of global markets and investment banking...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185345-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[BNP Picks Distressed Finance Group Head]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[BNP Paribas has appointed Alain Dib as global head of its new distressed finance group...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185196-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Piper Jaffray Expands Aircraft Finance Team]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Piper Jaffray &amp; Co. has expanded its aircraft finance team, adding Doug Runte, Scott Sodokoff, Dan Reese and John Covello...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185197-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Advent Capital Launches New Fund ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Advent Capital Management has launched a new fund with $60 million in assets under management, according to a report...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185165-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Former PE Exec Joins Mezz Firm Praesidian ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Mezzanine capital firm Praesidian Capital Investors has hired Jon Mansfield as a managing director. The firm said he will play a key role in transaction origination, structuring and execution and portfolio management... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185166-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Credit Crisis Hits PE Compensation ... Not! ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Private equity shops may face difficulties in terms of getting deals done in the current environment, but compensation and hiring at these firms appears to be more resilient than that of investment banks...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185180-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[BofA Adds Another: Neil Yaris From Credit Suisse ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Neil Yaris, formerly the head trader of high yield securities at Credit Suisse, is expected to join Bank of America in November as head of high yield sales and trading...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185181-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Churchill Hires For Corporate Strategy]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The Churchill Financial Group has hired David Heilbrunn in the newly created position of senior managing director, head of corporate strategy and development...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185153-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[BofA Adds Two To Euro Capital Markets Group]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Bank of America has added two to its European debt business. Andy Cairns and Mariam Toulan have joined BofA's capital markets group, which lost Alison Jenkins, a managing director and the Euro trading head, last month...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185068-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[S&amp;P: More Downgrades Coming ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Standard &amp; Poor's issued a report earlier today that found the outlook for corporate bonds to be increasingly negative and singled out five unsurprising sectors where it expects to see significant additional downgrades...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185040-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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         <title><![CDATA[Banks Look To Tap Investors For InBev]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[A bank consortium has begun marketing part of a $45 billion credit facility for InBev to help finance its acquisition of Anheuser-Busch. The deal could act as a sobriety test for the leveraged loan market, providing an indication of the how much it is able to absorb....]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/185013-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Nearly 25% Of Junk Cos. Now Distressed]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The number of speculative-grade companies now trading at distressed levels has climbed to 24.8% this month, according to Standard &amp; Poor's...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184989-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Market Sees Slowest Issuance Pace Since 2002 ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[As summer nears its end and market participants look to fall with hope (if not conviction) that the leveraged finance markets will pick up, here is some sobering news for the year so far...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184938-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[David Flannery Exits Deutsche For BofA]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[David Flannery, a 15-year veteran of Deutsche Bank and most recently its global head of debt capital markets, has left the firm to join rival Bank of America as global head of leveraged finance...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184923-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Cheniere Energy Closes $250M Convertible  ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Houston-based Cheniere Energy said today that it has closed a $250 million senior secured convertible loan agreement with GSO Capital Partners...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184864-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[State Street PM Heads To PPM America]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Scott Richards, formerly a high yield portfolio manager at Boston's State Street Global Advisors, has joined PPM America in Chicago...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184717-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Babson Capital Closes Two CLOs]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Babson Capital Management has closed two CLOs totaling $842 million, the company said today. The CLOs, Babson CLO 2008-I and Babson CLO 2008-II, are 95% invested in senior secured bank loans... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184684-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Uno Takes Bond Payment Off The Menu]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Uno Chicago Grill is famous for its deep dish pizza, but its pockets are apparently not deep enough to make a bond payment this Friday. Its parent company will miss a payment and...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184689-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Unitranche Funds Find Strong Demand ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Unitranche funds, which have been launched by only handful of lenders, including Allied Capital and Golub Capital, have found some success in a market where raising debt is not always easy...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184672-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[High Yield Default Rate Jumps ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The U.S. speculative-grade default rate increased to 3.0% in July from 2.5% in June, according to a recent report from Moody's Investors Service. At this time last year, the U.S. rate stood at 1.5%... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184621-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[DTCC Adds Lewis To Run New Loan Business]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The Depository Trust &amp; Clearing Corporation has hired Mathew Keshav Lewis to head up its new syndicated loan business in Europe...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184622-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Looking For Killing: GSO Buy RBS Hung Debt ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Royal Bank of Scotland is selling roughly $8 billion of leveraged loans to GSO Capital, a unit of The Blackstone Group, TPG Capital and Apollo Alternative Assets...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184633-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[RBC Pulls Allis-Chalmers Bonds]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The Royal Bank of Canada yesterday pulled $350 million in senior notes due 2018 for Allis-Chalmers Energy, a Houston-based oil and gas drilling company. The bonds were scheduled to price today...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184482-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[FIA Names Fidelity Veteran As President]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Fridson Investment Advisors said Tuesday that it named Drew E. Lawton its president. A 26-year veteran of the financial services industry, Lawton joins FIA after an 11-year career with Fidelity Investments, serving most recently as president of Pyramis Global Advisors Trust Company—Fidelity's institutional investment arm... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184452-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Annaly Acquires Merganser Capital ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Boston-based fixed income investment manager Merganser Capital Management has agreed to be acquired by Annaly Capital Management...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184454-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Merger Creates Dubai-Based KCP Capital ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[KIT Capital, MNA Partners and River Road Ventures have merged to form KCP Capital, a cross-border merchant bank focused on the increasing business opportunities...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184423-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Suit Charges Wachovia With False Valuation]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Investors sued Wachovia Corp. and two affiliates on Monday, charging them with causing losses by incorrectly valuing shares of a now-defunct bond fund and making risky investments in the fund...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184427-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[JPMorgan Trading Chief Jumps Ship For Silver Point]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[John Abate, head of distressed and loan trading at JPMorgan, has left the firm to join Silver Point Capital, an activist hedge fund founded by ex-Goldman Sachs partners... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184403-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[UBS Bulks Up Distressed Team ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[In an effort to boost its presence in the distressed area, UBS has added four professionals to its distressed team... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184404-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Banks Prepare To Launch Manitowoc TLB]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[A bank consortium plans to began marketing a $1 billion term loan B for Manitowoc Thursday, following the company's strong second-quarter earnings report yesterday. Price talk is at Libor plus 350 bps, with an OID in the upper 90s...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184231-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Banks Prep $1.6B Facility For Brocade]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Bank of America and Morgan Stanley are arranging a $1.6 billion credit facility for San Jose, Calif.-based technology company Brocade Communications...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184199-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[CIT Prepays $2.1 Billion Credit Facility ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[CIT Group will prepay a $2.1 billion credit facility on July 30, 2008, three months in advance of the facility's due date...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184145-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Investors Chew Over Wrigley Deal]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[A bank group led by Goldman Sachs on Wednesday began marketing a $3.6 billion term loan B for William Wrigley Co. Price talk is at Libor plus 375 bps, with an OID of 97 and a 3.0% Libor floor...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184006-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Goldman Raises $10 Billion Fund For Loans ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Goldman Sachs has raised a $10 billion fund to invest in loans backing leveraged buyouts, according to published reports, as it takes advantage of a gap in the financing markets created by the credit crisis...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/184019-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Another Exec Departs Citigroup]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Citigroup's Michael S. Klein, who had been at the bank for 23 years and most recently led its institutional clients group, has left to pursue other opportunities...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183921-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Interval Bond Deal Goes Private Route ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Underwriters pulled the Interval Leisure Group bond deal earlier today, after Interval's parent company reached a private agreement to sell the notes at a price lower than the price talk in the public market... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183922-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Highland Bulks Up, Heads East ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Highland Capital Management is bulking up its institutional sales and investor relations team in New York and plans to open an Asia Pacific Regional office in Singapore...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183769-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Alcentra Makes Push Into U.S. Lev Loans]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Alcentra, a specialist investor focused on junk-rated debt, is moving a top managing director from London to New York to lead its U.S. leveraged loan business...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183746-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Spectrum's Lenders Curb Applica Deal ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[A $325 million credit facility led by Credit Suisse and GE Capital Markets for Applica Pet Products was called off today. Spectrum Brands, which had agreed to sell its pet supply business to Salton Inc., the owner of Applica, put a muzzle on the deal citing its inability to obtain consent from its senior lenders...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183761-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[IACPM Poll: Spreads To Increase]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[A survey conducted by the International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers shows that credit investors believe spreads are likely to widen over the next three months...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183602-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[As Euro Trading Soars, Systems on the Brink of Meltdown]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Forget the credit markets. The systems used by Europe's leverage loan traders are about to have a meltdown of their own, despite the fact that the primary loan market there has slowed down significantly...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183553-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Standard Completes $1Billion CLO]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Standard Chartered Bank has completed a $1 billion synthetic vehicle and its fifth CLO transaction under its Start CLO series...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183555-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Andersen Returns To Congress Asset Management ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Peter Andersen, most recently with Dreman Value Management, last week returned to work for his previous firm, Congress Asset Management in Boston...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183558-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Wayne Hummer Appoints Managing Director, Fixed Income]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Wayne Hummer Asset Management appointed William Gregg as managing director and director of fixed income...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183560-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Aviva Hires Two High Yield Portfolio Managers ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Aviva Capital Management has hired Jeremy Hughes and Chris Langs as high yield portfolio managers. The two have joined portfolio manager Josh Rank in overseeing all of the firm's high yield assets...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183561-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[Jefferies Picks Up Bear Stearns Debt Vet]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Robert Harteveldt, most recently head of high yield, distressed and loan sales at Bear Stearns, has joined Jefferies &amp; Co. as chairman of fixed income...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183538-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>

      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[SEC Finds Problems At Rating Agencies ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The Securities and Exchange Commission delivered a blistering report Tuesday that detailed the shortcomings of Fitch Ratings, Moody's Investors Service and Standard &amp; Poor's in rating residential mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183519-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[ML Head of EMEA Lev Finance Departs]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[Merrill Lynch's head of leveraged finance for Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Andrew McCullagh, has resigned from the bank...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183522-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[RBC Taps Wolfe As Head Of U.S. Lev Finance ]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[RBC Capital Markets has appointed Jim Wolfe as managing director and head of U.S. leveraged finance...]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183473-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
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      <item>
         <title><![CDATA[CS and GE Capital Launch Applica Pet Loan]]></title>
         <description><![CDATA[The bank meeting to launch the $325 billion Applica Pet Products credit facility went on Tuesday, despite setbacks with the M&amp;A deal. Credit Suisse and GE Capital Markets are marketing a $300 million first-lien term loan B and a $25 million revolver... ]]></description>
         <link>http://www.leveragedfinancenews.com/news/183362-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS</link>
      </item>
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