Fitch RatingsRuss Thomas, +1-312-368-3189 (Chicago)Gwen Fink-Stone, +1-212-908-9128 (New York)Nathan Flanders, +1-212-908-0827 (New York)Manuel Arrive, CFA, +44 (0)20 7682 7499 (London)Julian Dennison, +44 020 7682 7480 (Media Relations, London)Sandro Scenga, +1-212-908-0278 (Media Relations, New York)Copyright Business Wire 2009. Fitch’s code ofconduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, complianceand other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the ‘Code ofConduct’ section of this site. ‘CDO Manager Replacement Activity Update’ is available on the Fitch web site at” under the following headers: Financial Institutions >> Fund & Asset Manager Ratings >> Special Reports Fitch’s rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available onthe agency’s public site, Published ratings, criteria andmethodologies are available from this site, at all times. It remains the exclusive responsibility of the noteholders,or the trustee on behalf of the noteholders, to perform their own risk analysisand determine if the proposed manager is acceptable to manage the CDO. Fitch is not a party to the CDO transaction documents and therefore does notprovide consent or approval, as that remains the sole preserve of thetransaction parties. Fitch reviews the CDO asset manager for all of its rated CDOs to determinewhether it meets minimum standards per Fitch’s published criteria. Fitchassesses CDO asset manager replacements within the context of the proposedmanager’s ability to manage a specific CDO.

‘Further institutional departures from the CDO asset management space are likelyas companies face increasing pressures on fees, resources and staffing,’ saidSenior Director Nathan Flanders. Replacement activity has been largely concentrated inthe U.S and has related primarily to structured finance CDOs. To date, 35Fitch-rated CDOs have experienced a CDO asset manager replacement. Fitch has observed an increase in the number of CDOs undergoing asset managerreplacement over the past year and a half, albeit at a much slower pace thanoriginally anticipated. And not to diminish what Lebron did, but based on past MVP voting trends, the number of team wins is a huge factor. CHICAGO–(Business Wire)–CDO asset managers will continue to be replaced at a steady pace in the U.S.,and in increasing numbers in Europe, as the sector faces ongoing financialpressure from collateral credit deterioration, reduced liquidity, a diminishingfee base and performance-driven franchise impairments, according to FitchRatings in a new report.

As for Lebron, he carries all the responsibilities of his team, i.e. scoring and passing, thus he accumulates more stats than Kobe does.  It should also be noted that the team offensive scheme plays a big role in terms of statistical distribution.  The Lakers run the triangle offense which distributes the ball more, thus assists are more evenly spread out and Kobe leads the team in that stat.  The Cavs are Lebron-centric, so he dominates the ball more.  It is evident in the team assists, this year the Lakers rank fourth whereas the Cavs are ranked 24th.  Still, Lebron had an insane overall season, and he did it with lesser talent which is why Lebron fanatics deeply believe that this is underlying reason that Lebron deserves MVP over Kobe.  Yet, that is exactly it.  He plays on a lesser team where he is the man among boys. Kobe vs. Lebron James: Many critics want to discredit Kobe's stats (28 PPG, 6 RBG, 5 APG, and 1.8 STLS) as not being as great as other seasons and while also comparing his numbers to Lebron's huge statistical season (30 PPG, 8 RPG, 7 APG, and 1.8 STLS).  While that may be true, with Kobe’s team success this year and the elevated scoring averages of his teammates, it could be equally assessed that he sacrificed his scoring for the betterment of this teammates by facilitating the ball more. For the past decade, Kobe has achieved phenomenal scoring achievements, while also being recognized as a furious defender.  He has won two scoring titles, earned All-NBA-First team defense plenty of times, was even voted 5th this year for Defensive Player of the Year, owns countless in-game scoring achievements 56 points in a half, 62 points in three quarters, four consecutive games with 50 plus points, and of course, 81 points in one game.  With all that, he has had the moniker as the “best player” in world, not only this year, but for the past four or five years.