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E-commerce software solutions provider abaXX is pushing ahead with its Eu72m-Eu93m Neuer Markt IPO, in the hope that investors will be so impressed by its technology they will buy shares even in the extremely poor market conditions. The company is due to list on December 1, but in a week in which the Nemax 50 index hit an all time low, it may prove hard to persuade investors to buy anything on the Neuer Markt. JP Morgan is managing the deal.

The chief executive of UK water utility AWG (formerly Anglian Water), Chris Mellor, this week said that proposals to separate the company's regulated water assets and operations by next June have been given "an amber light" by industry regulator Ofwat. Two weeks ago, Ofwat director general Philip Fletcher said he saw "no insurmountable issues" arising from non-profit making company Glas Cymru's acquisition of Welsh Water from Western Power Distribution (WPD).

The market this week shrugged off Moody's decision to change Argentina's ratings outlook to negative, after the country's government displayed much needed leadership by clinching an agreement with regional governors to freeze spending for five years at federal and provincial levels. The agreement boosted investors' confidence that president Fernando de la Rúa's government has the strength to push through a package of reform measures required to win an estimated $20bn-$24bn IMF-led emergency package.

Mandated arrangers ABN Amro (joint bookrunner), Citibank/SSSB (joint bookrunner), Deutsche Bank (agent), ING Barings and SG launched the first round of syndication this week of the $1.8bn/£235m credit facility for International Power plc - the international arm of the former National Power (NP). The deal is structured into three tranches: tranche 'A' is a $1.2bn credit; tranche 'B' is a $600m credit; and tranche 'C' is a £235m facility.

Australia Barclays Capital and Toronto-Dominion Australia have been awarded the mandate for a $520m project financing for Nava Networks.

The biggest IPO from Austria, the Eu1.16bn IPO of Telekom Austria, was completed this week, after being scaled back from its original size of Eu1.3bn-Eu1.7bn in the face of heavy competition from other telecoms issues. With KPN and Telefónica Móviles both bookbuilding for bigger deals, and sentiment for telecoms stocks low across Europe, Austrian government holding company ÖIAG was forced to sell 112m shares instead of the 140m originally planned. It also had to price the deal at the bottom of the Eu9-Eu12 bookbuilding range. "There has been a big cash call in the sector, and we are probably the poor cousin here," said a banker close to the deal.

Mandated arrangers Deutsche Bank (bookrunner) and Landesbank Baden-Württemburg (information memorandum) have launched general syndication of the Eu200m and $100m credit facility for Dürr AG. The deal is structured into three parts. Tranche 'A' is a Eu200m five year term credit to be amortised in five instalments - Eu80m, three of Eu20m and Eu60m. Tranche 'B' is a $50m five year term loan to be amortised by three annual instalments of $10m and a final instalment of Eu20m. Tranche 'C' is a $50m revolver with a bullet repayment.

Hanson plc issued a trading statement on Monday outlining a fall in profits for the second half of the year. The group expects pre-tax profits to fall short of last year's £314.3m level, mainly due to the rising costs of fuel, the slowing US market and the poor weather conditions in the UK. Analysts' reactions to the news were modest, as the statement was not unexpected. The slowing in the US market was anticipated and fuel prices are affecting all companies in the building sector.

The status of Saeco as a domestic appliance manufacturer with the Ebitda margins of a luxury goods retailer is already exciting investors' interest in the Italian coffee machine manufacturer's Eu159m-Eu187m IPO. The company is selling 55.6m shares at Eu2.86-Eu3.36. All the shares on offer are existing shares, sold by venture capital funds and management.

India Standard Chartered, Sumitomo and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi (Hong Kong) have launched a $100m five year term loan for Industrial Development Bank of India. The deal pays a margin of 67.5bp.

Peru's congress swore in Valentin Paniagua as its new interim president this week after months of crippling political scandals culminated in the end of Alberto Fujimori's decade-long rule. Fujimori emerged on Monday from four days' hiding in a Tokyo hotel to say he had resigned, but Congress ignored his resignation letter, and announced he was "morally unfit" to run the country, declaring the presidency vacant.

Invensys, the controls and automation company, announced half year results on Wednesday that were below expectations. In addition, the company said it would spinoff part of its power systems business next year. The profits warning in September cushioned the blow from this week's results somewhat, as they were in line with the published figures. But, combined with the news of the spinoff, analysts still believed there was scope for optimism.