The FTSE 100 rallied to a 13-year high yesterday as investors pushed the index up to close at 6,755.63 points - its highest closing level since September 2000 - BlackRock is set to double the amount of money it has invested in real estate after reaching a deal to buy independently managed real-estate advisory business MGPA - Russian broker BCS Financial Group has bolstered its international sales and research teams with two new hires - JPMorgan will end its transition management operations in the US, Europe, Middle East and Africa - Emirates Islamic Financial Brokerage (EIFB), a major Shariah-compliant broker in the UAE, has become a member of Nasdaq Dubai, the region's international exchange. EIFB will focus on opportunities for trading Shariah-compliant shares listed on Nasdaq- Moody's Investors Service confirmed the ratings of Elan Corporation, plc ("Elan") including the Ba3 Corporate Family Rating and the Ba2-PD Probability of Default Rating. This concludes the rating review for downgrade initiated on May 13, 2013. At the same time, Moody's assigned a Ba3 rating to the new senior unsecured note offering of Elan Finance plc, guaranteed by Elan. The rating outlook is stable – According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) last Saturday, China's housing inflation accelerated to its fastest pace in April in two years, driven by a jump in prices in Beijing and Shanghai, complicating the task of policymakers trying to cool the property sector while supporting economic expansion. Average new home prices rose 4.9% last month from a year ago, after a year-on-year increase of 3.6%. The rise was the sharpest since April 2011 – S&P reiterated its negative outlook on India’s credit rating last Friday, despite a previous attempt by government officials to push for an upgrade in light of their actions to put India’s finances in order. India’s credit rating is BBB-, one notch above “junk” – JP Morgan Asset Management is to launch an investment company investing in convertible securities from a range of sectors, targeting income and the potential for long-term capital growth. Domiciled in Guernsey, the JPMorgan Global Convertibles Income Fund will be managed by the convertible bond team headed by Antony Vallee -ABS deals currently in the pipeline include: €800m Bavarian Sky German Auto Loans 1; $238m CarFinance Auto Receivables Trust 2013-1; $599.7m Edsouth Indenture No.4 Series 2013-1; and €300m Volta Electricity Receivables Securitisation – RMBS deals in hand include Firstmac Series 1E-2013 and £420.6m Kenrick No.2; $425m HLSS Servicer Advance Receivables Trust series 2013-T2 and $425m 2013-T3 – CMBS deals underway include the $510m JPMCC 2013-JWRZ and $1.47bn WFRBS 2013-C14 -