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Tupperware signed a Euro-CP shelf yesterday, October 26. Goldman Sachs is the arranger and only dealer. The US manufacturer famous for selling its plastic lunch boxes at parties, already has a domestic US CP facility. The US and the Euro-CP programmes have a combined debt limit of $300 million. This is due to the issuer's single back-up facility whereby $300 million is the limit agreed by the rating agencies. Eighty-five percent of Tupperware's sales are outside the US. The Euro-CP shelf can raise debt in euros, Swiss francs, yen and dollar. The issuer previously raised debt in US dollar and then swapped out into the required currency, but FASB rule 133 will change accountancy rules in January 2001. Many US borrowers will not be able to hedge their investments by swapping out and for some US issuers with only domestic US debt instruments, it is necessary to set up a Euro facility. It is the ninth US corporate to sign a Euro-CP programme this year. It is rated A-2 by Standard & Poor's and P-2 by Moody's.

* BMW US Capital Corp Guarantor: BMW AG

Mandated lead arranger Chase Manhattan has launched the £485m project financing for Wembley National Stadium Limited - the developer of the new national sports stadium at the existing Wembley site in north west London. At this first stage of selldown, the deal has been offered to a select group of banks to join as arrangers with take and holds of £40m apiece.

Venezuela is hoping to come to the international markets at least once before the year is out with a euro offering, having been absent from the international markets all year. "I would say there is a 50:50 chance we will do a bond issue before year end," said a finance ministry official said this week. "We thought that in September we were going to access the markets, but oil prices have been high and we have not had the need."

Gamesa, the Spanish aeronautics and windfarm equipment maker, will price its BBVA and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney led Eu218m-Eu300m secondary offering this weekend with indications that the deal will be a success. Corporation IBV, which owns 72% of Gamesa, will sell 30% of its shares. BBVA and Iberdrola are joint shareholders of Corporation IBV. No money will be raised for Gamesa from the sale.

* General Electric Capital Corp Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

Despite adverse market conditions, Türk Dis Ticaret Bankasi (Disbank) last Friday went ahead with the launch of its first securitisation even though it had to lower the amount offered by 25% at least initially. Lead managed by Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, the deal had originally been marketed as offering Eu100m of bonds at between 375bp and 395bp over three month Euribor.

Issuers and investment banks in the ABS market have reacted angrily to changes to the Dutch Tax Reform 2001 placed before parliament this week. If approved, they will penalise most of this year's ABS deals issued from Holland. Suggested amendments to the tax reform, or Veegwet, could mean that subordinate tranches of Dutch ABS would lose their tax deductibility for the issuer, while investors could become liable for withholding tax. These changes would be applied retrospectively to all deals issued after January 12, 2000.

Dutch insurance company DBV Levensverzekeringsmaatschappij this week launched its first solo securitisation with a Eu360m residential MBS lead managed by Fortis Bank (arranger) and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (books). Holland Homes MBS 2000-1 BV offered investors longer maturities than most Dutch deals with an 8.7 year average life on the senior floater and 18 year soft bullets on the lower fixed rate classes. The Eu334m 'A' tranche, rated triple-A by Fitch and Standard & Poor's, priced at 31bp over one month Euribor.

ING Barings-BBL has hired two senior securitisation officials in London to reinvigorate its European business. Robert Plehn, a senior securitisation partner at US law firm Sidley & Austin, takes up the newly created role of head of European securitisation in London, reporting to global head Ken Cox.

Bankers report reasonable interest in China Mobile's $4.1bn offering and considerable enthusiasm for the $690m convertible bond issue, despite the adverse market conditions. Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch are with the company on a global roadshow to raise up to $5.7bn as part funding for the firm's $32.84bn purchase of seven mobile telecoms franchises in China.

Hong Kong Standard & Poor's lowered Cathay International's corporate credit rating and the rating on its $350m senior notes due 2008 from CCC to D.