[ by Howard Haykin ] Bonds had traded in a bull market for quite some time, providing an excellent alternative to slumping stocks - at least through March or April of this year, and, for all I know, it may still be going on.  Junk bonds have been so red hot this past year - as investors chase after yields - that many are priced at levels usually reserved for investment grade bonds. Not Everyone Is Doing Well in this Bond Market. So, imagine our surprise when we read on Tuesday that Gleacher & Co., the New York-based bond-trading firm - fka First Albany Cos. - issued a statement saying the firm has retained a financial advisor - Credit Suisse - to evaluate “a range of available options for its future,” including asset sales or a merger.  Of course, nothing's been decided at this point. Gleacher’s actions reportedly were made under pressure from its top investor, PE firm MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC. The Nasdaq-listed firm firm had a market value of $105 million, based on its last trade price of $0.85 as of 3 p.m. on Friday before Labor Day weekend.  Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $0.53 and $1.88. GLCH's shares had lost over half their value this year as CEO Thomas Hughes’s plan to restructure the brokerage led to employee defections and writedowns on the value of goodwill.  Following 2 consecutive years of losses, Hughes has had to sell off assets to reduce the firm’s leverage, replaced executives and shuttered units that failed to meet expectations. MatlinPatterson’s Stake. The firm traces its roots to First Albany, a regional brokerage founded in 1953 in New York’s capital city.  MatlinPatterson received a majority stake in the company, which changed its name to Broadpoint Securities Group Inc. after a $50 million investment in 2007 to restore the broker’s capital following losses.  It currently holds a 28% stake in the company. In 2009, Broadpoint changed its name after acquiring the advisory boutique run by M&A banker Eric Gleacher who founded Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s M&A department in 1978.  Gleacher controls about 12% of the firm’s shares. This year, the firm replaced top executives - including Joseph Mannello, who ran corporate credit, and Robert Fine, who oversaw mortgage and asset-backed securities.  After Fine departed along with his head of trading, Robert Tirschwell, in May, as many as half of the unit’s 70 employees also departed. Gleacher had 453 employees as of 12/31/12.  This month, the board created a retention plan for 4 senior executives, including Hughes, updating arrangements such as provisions for severance in the event of a sale of the company.    [Bloomberg, 8/29/12]