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Cemex adopted a cautious approach to the shaky Latin new issue market in dollars this week to raise $250m of three year Yankee bonds. Although the deal was initially expected to be $200m to $300m in size and in the 350bp spread area, nervous markets ahead of the Fed's FOMC meeting in late June convinced lead managers Chase (books) and Salomon Smith Barney to take a more prudent approach to the new issue market. The leads first launched the deal at $200m and at a 362.5bp spread before increasing it to $250m.

Deutsche Telekom's Eu10bn capital increase has got off to a flying start, with the share price rising strongly this week on the back of an enthusiastic response to the start of the pan-European retail offer. The structure marks the first time that a vendor has attempted to reach retail investors throughout the eurozone in this way. The syndicate for the retail offering is hefty, comprising 29 regional co-lead managers and co-managers.

CSFB AND Cazenove, as foreshadowed by Euroweek, have been appointed as global co- ordinators for the sale of stock in Freeserve. The nine month old internet group will be spun off by Dixons, the UK's largest electrical goods retailer, in a move to rationalise its core operations and cash in on the strength of investor demand for internet stocks.

THE DANISH primary equity market is to benefit from a flurry of activity as several of the country's corporates tap international and local investors for new funds. As foreshadowed by Euroweek two weeks ago, Robert Fleming (through its joint venture with Aros Securities) will run the books on the flotation in ISS, the local cleaning services company.

THE ITALIAN treasury is to embark on the next stage of its privatisation programme with the sale of stock in Enel (lead managed by Merrill Lynch and Mediobanca), Autostrade (BCI and Warburg Dillon Read), Eni (IMI and CSFB) and Mediocredito Centrale . The three deals should bring much needed liquidity to the Milan stockmarket where investors, in a similar pattern to the rest of the continental European bourses, are wary of participating in IPOs.

TELEFÓNICA, the Spanish telecommunications monopoly, has launched the long expected sale of stock in its yellow pages subsidiary, TPI-Paginas Amarillas, in a flotation that will value its 35% stake at around Eu600m. The deal is braving a market that has not been welcoming to IPOs. Recent small cap flotations in Madrid, as elsewhere in Europe, have fallen foul of negative investor sentiment - buyers are concentrating only on certain sectors and only on large, liquid stocks.

CONVERTIBLE investors had a huge variety of new issues to choose from this week with deals from blue chip issuers, small cap groups, established emerging market names and sovereign borrowers. Traders say the convertible market will provide investors with all the paper they want in the next two months as issuers seek to execute their funding plans and vendors seek to use the current strong, if volatile, stockmarkets to raise cheap debt and monetise investments.

One of the largest non-IPO equity offerings ever from North America will close on Monday with the pricing of a $3bn combined stock offering and convertible bond issue for Canadian entertainment and drinks group Seagram. Goldman Sachs is leading the offer, which is being predominantly aimed at US and Canadian investors. Just 3.5m of the 37m shares on offer are being sold outside North America. In addition to the $2bn common stock offering, Goldman is leading a $1bn convertible bond - with indicated terms of a 7%-7.5% coupon and premium of 18%-22%.

LEAD MANAGER Goldman Sachs has reduced the total proceeds from the IPO of Charles Vogele, highlighting the increasing reluctance of investors to take up small cap paper in the primary market. Some Sfr900m ($588m) was raised through the group's flotation. Although this is sizeable by the standards of the Swiss market, it is less than half that anticipated when Vogele announced its intention to list.

The nervous tone in the US stockmarket slowed primary market activity this week as prices dipped in response to growing fears of a rise in US rates and as the internet sector, which has dominated the new issue market, lost further ground. For the first time in months, however, the new issue spotlight was not on the technology sector. Taking centre stage in a quiet week was the Merrill Lynch-led IPO of Azurix Corp, the water company created in January by power giant Enron.

n Bank of Western Australia Ltd Rating: A1/A

THE FRENCH stockmarket is to host a variety of new issues in the next few weeks following the highly successful debut made by the state-controlled defence group Aérospatiale Matra. The Trésor completed the sale of the company's stock and this week the shares defied the despondency in the primary market to trade at an impressive premium to issue price.