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Yapi has closed and signed its $300m self arranged club facility after a successful syndication, suggesting that there remains strong appetite for Turkish debt. Bankers looking at the deal say that it matches the success of the $450m facility. That deal, like the current one, paid a margin of 50bp over Libor. Senior arrangers for Yapi's latest loan are Bank of New York, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Barclays Capital, Citibank, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole Indosuez, Dai-Ichi Kangyo, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, First Union National Bank, Fuji Bank, Natexis Banques Populaires, RZB, Royal Bank of Scotland, Sakura and Standard Chartered.

Bankers are hoping Unilever’s $7bn global deal this week will provide a much needed calming influence on a high grade bond market reeling from further corporate earnings weakness and escalating problems in the Middle East.

Corporate spreads were battered this week by plummeting equity markets and escalating violence in the Middle East. In such a volatile environment, Fannie Mae did well to raise $9bn on its Benchmark Note programme. The financing included $5bn of two year notes and $4bn of seven year notes. The two year tranche was a clear winner, appealing to investors worldwide as a safe haven buy. The move to the defensive short end of the curve was further highlighted by successful 2003 bonds by KfW and EIB. Unilever's $7bn global financing is due next week and bankers are optimistic about its reception. The offering, which is to be split into a two year floating rate note, and three, five and 10 year fixed rate tranches, is being cited as the credit to divert focus away from the severe spread deterioration the corporate sector has endured this week. Telecom Italia's financing seems more in doubt. The borrower has confirmed that it is studying a multi-tranche bond but has not confirmed the structure, the timing or its lead managers. Chase, Lehman and Morgan Stanley are said to have the mandate, however, and the market is expecting a $2bn five year tranche, a $2bn 10 year and a $1bn 30 year. As volatility spread to the euro sector, investors sought the safety of government bonds. But the calendar remains heavy with several corporate transactions due for launch in the next two weeks, the most significant being the Eu5bn equivalent financing for France Télécom. The French telco finally awarded its mandate to Morgan Stanley, Barclays, BNP Paribas and Deutsche. The bond will comprise three euro tranches - a three year FRN and five and 10 year fixed rate bonds - totalling Eu4bn and two sterling tranches, a five year and a long dated bond for the equivalent of Eu1bn. Cooper Industries will offer a Eu300m five year bond at a revised spread of swaps plus 70bp and NorthWest Water will launch a euro denominated transaction via ABN Amro, Deutsche Bank and UBS Warburg. TXU Europe is also scheduled to issue a Eu300m-Eu500m five year bond at mid swaps plus 120bp. Banca Itau Europea will launch its inaugural three year euro FRN early next week under the stewardship of Caboto, HypoVereinsbank and Merrill Lynch. French defence and industrial electronics firm Thomson-CSF is planning a debut euro denominated bond following roadshows next week. ABN Amro and BNP Paribas have the mandate for the Eu500m-Eu750m transaction. A maturity of five years is expected at a price of swaps plus 50bp area. Finnish/Swedish energy company Birka Energi, rated Baa1/BBB+, has appointed ABN Amro and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney to lead a three year FRN next week. The all-in price talk is Euribor plus 43bp area. Swedish life insurance company Folsam LIV is set to launch a euro denominated senior FRN via Schroder Salomon Smith Barney. Standard & Poor's (S&P) has rated Folsam's financial strength A+ and its senior debt single-A. Valenciana de Cementos will start roadshows for its inaugural Eu750m bond on October 16. Deutsche will lead manage the transaction which may include fixed and floating rate tranches. Union Bank of Norway, rated A1/A/A+, has awarded the mandate for a euro denominated bond to ABN Amro and UBS Warburg. A five year bond of Eu400m-Eu500m is expected at a suggested price of swaps plus 19bp area. Dexia Municipal Agency is planning a Eu2bn obligations foncières transaction via Commerzbank, Morgan Stanley and SG. Roadshows will start in Asia in the coming week and continue in Europe the week after. Suez Lyonnais des Eaux, rated A by S&P, has mandated Crédit Agricole Indosuez, HSBC CCF and JP Morgan as joint lead managers for its planned seven year euro denominated transaction. The size of the fixed rate offering will be at least Eu500m and launch is expected next week. Triple-A rated State of Hessen has appointed HypoVereinsbank and Merrill Lynch to lead manage its Eu1bn annual benchmark. The deal is forecast for next week with an expected 10 year maturity. Hessen's outstanding 2008 and 2009 bonds trade in the mid-12bp/15bp range through swaps.

Bankers are hoping Unilever’s $7bn global deal this week will provide a much needed calming influence on a high grade bond market reeling from further corporate earnings weakness and escalating problems in the Middle East.

General syndication will get under way late next week on the £4.6bn credit facility for Granada Group through arrangers ABN Amro, Bank of America, Barclays (bookrunner), Citibank/SSSB, HSBC (bookrunner) and Royal Bank of Scotland. The facility is split between a £3bn 364 day revolver, with a two year term out option, and a £2bn three year revolver. The 364 day tranche carries a margin of 45bp over Libor while the three year portion has a margin of 50bp.

Globals: * CenturyTel

* Abbey National Treasury Services plc Guarantor: Abbey National plc

Four more American insurance companies are joining the Euro-MTN market, swelling the number of guaranteed investment contract (GIC)-backed issuers. These latest signings bring the number of such borrowers in the market to 12. The four newcomers are Allmerica Financial, Allstate, MassMutual, and Nationwide Financial (Nationwide). Each is signing a $2 billion programme. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is arranging the first three. Credit Suisse First Boston is arranging Nationwide's. MassMutual signed its facility on June 11. It hopes to issue its debut $300 million trade next week, believing the market to be far from over-crowded. Ed Kline, vice-president and treasurer of MassMutual, says: "What differentiates MassMutual from other GIC-backed issuers in the Euro-MTN market is our triple-A rating." MassMutual roadshowed in London, Geneva and Zurich this week. Nationwide is rated double-A+ by Standard & Poor's and has an Aa3 rating from Moody's. Dan Amodeo, investor relations officer at Nationwide Financial, believes that the way its credit is sold to investors will be crucial. He says: "Our strength is brand recognition. People have heard of Nationwide in the US." Nationwide Financial is to visit London in July to sell its brand name to European investors prior to its first issue. A $200 to $300 million plain vanilla trade is expected. MassMutual and Nationwide expect to issue more structured notes later in the year. Kline, at MassMutual, says: "MassMutual will be very responsive to all sorts of structures. We've done a lot of work with derivatives and can turn around proposals very quickly." The first issue off Allmerica's facility, rated double-A- by Standard & Poor's, is due in the next two weeks. MassMutual's named dealers are Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Warburg Dillon Read and the arranger. Allmerica has named the same dealers but also included Merrill Lynch and Salomon Smith Barney. Nationwide and Allstate have yet to confirm their dealer groups but Nationwide's is expected to consist of three to four US houses.

Cemex SA is to launch a Eu750m deal through its Spanish subsidiary, Compania Valenciana de Cementos Portland SA, with the deal set to be priced by the end of October. The transaction will part finance Cemex's $2.8bn purchase of US cement maker Southdown Inc, which was announced at the end of September.

Corporate spreads were battered this week by plummeting equity markets and escalating violence in the Middle East. In such a volatile environment, Fannie Mae did well to raise $9bn on its Benchmark Note programme. The financing included $5bn of two year notes and $4bn of seven year notes. The two year tranche was a clear winner, appealing to investors worldwide as a safe haven buy. The move to the defensive short end of the curve was further highlighted by successful 2003 bonds by KfW and EIB.

Despite a difficult week on the Italian Nuovo Mercato for debutantes Datamat and Vitaminic and volatile conditions on the main market, companies are still lining up to list on both markets in the coming weeks. Datamat, the Italian financial software company, and Vitaminic, an Italian platform for the promotion and distribution of digital music via the internet, shed 9.87% and 4.23% respectively after their first day on the Nuovo Mercato on Thursday.

Belgium A well attended bank meeting was held this week for the syndication of the Eu1.5bn 364 day facility for Euroclear Bank. Mandated arrangers are Crédit Agricole Indosuez and HSBC Investment Bank.