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When formulating investment strategies and assessing risk, traders and investors often make use of two quite different techniques: scenario analysis under specific market scenarios, and Monte Carlo simulation.

The Kingdom of Thailand has backed away from the launch of its long mooted global bond offering, pushing the prospective timetable for the deal back to the second half of the year. Ministry of Finance officials told Euroweek that an issue is not now likely before the end of June. "Funds received as a result of the Miyazawa plan have used up two thirds of our $2bn capital markets quota for the financial year," said one official.

Sydney Airports Corporation (SAC) completed one of the largest ever corporate bond offerings in the domestic Australian market this week, signalling a new stage of development away from traditional dominance by bank credits. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Westpac were joint lead managers for an A$400m ($254m) five year deal due March 15, 2004. Priced at 99.873 with a 6.35% coupon, the A+ rated transaction came at 97bp over government bonds, equating to 52bp over swaps.

Korean company Halla Cement this week issued the largest international debt offering to emerge from Korea since the republic's $4bn transaction of April 1998. Using the capital markets as an exit for what was the second largest ever Korean bankruptcy, the deal may provide a template for future M&A financings from the country and the region. Lead manager Rothschild Inc is already far advanced on a second offering for Mando Machinery, the flagship company of the collapsed Halla group.

n Kookmin Bank this week launched a rare bond offering from the Korean banking sector. The $50m private placement FRN was led by Daiwa Securities (HK) Ltd at a spread of 25bp over six month Libor and a two year maturity. n Following the success of its debut euro denominated offering last week a second company affiliated to Hutchison Whampoa has launched a bond offering.

Life Co, an independent Japanese consumer finance company, is to launch its first international auto loan securitisation through Warburg Dillon Read in the next two weeks. The transaction, known as Freya Funding Corp after the Norse goddess of life, will be worth between $200m and $220m, and will be wrapped by triple-A rated monoline insurer FSA. With a one year average life and five year legal final maturity, the deal is expected to be priced in the low 40s over one month Libor.

Kepco's $500m secondary ADR sale got off to a shaky start this week when a finance ministry slip up left bookrunners ING Barings, Salomon Smith Barney and Hyundai Securities fielding questions about the myriad uncertainties surrounding the deal during the first week of the roadshow. The lead managers advised the government on Saturday to sell 42m shares, reducing its stake from 5.38% to 2.08%. Assuming parity of the ADRs to local stock - they are currently at a 15% premium - $500m would be raised, increasing to $600m should the 15% greenshoe be exercised.

The Republic of Argentina has placed another Eu150m of bonds in the past week by increasing two existing deals it launched in February, providing evidence that the Latin new issue market in euros at least has a pulse. This week it added Eu50m to a Eu100m three year private placement (CSFB) and last Friday it reopened its Eu300m five year deal (CSFB and Deutsche Bank) for Eu100m.

The superlative performance of major stockmarkets - in particular the US - in recent weeks has disguised the concern of investors which are focusing on the underlying factors bearing on the economy, the health of the corporate sector and the outlook for interest rates. "The fact that the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved through its highest barrier this week means nothing to broad-range investors," says one head of equity capital markets at one of the top three firms. "It simply shows that this index has become so narrow and concentrated that it bears no relation to the underlying demand for stocks in the market."

The Brazilian government's plea for understanding from the international banking community paid off in New York this week when 11 US and Canadian banks agreed to maintain their credit exposure to the country through to the end of August this year. New central bank president, Arminio Fraga, said in New York yesterday that trade and interbank lines amounting to around $28bn would be maintained at least until the end of August.

The province of Buenos Aires this week issued a $150m three year bullet deal, its first in the dollar market in four years, but had to pay a huge concession over the sovereign curve to compensate for the small size of the transaction. The offering, led by Salomon Smith Barney, was originally talked at $100m with a yield of 12.5% to 12.75% and was ultimately launched at a yield of 12.5%, or 744bp over Treasuries.

The United Mexican States has offered to restructure the contentious $2.7bn emergency credit line it received in 1997, in a bid to sweeten its tainted relationships with the banking community. Last year the UMS outraged the 33 banks involved in the deal by drawing on the 18 month liquidity facility in circumstances the lenders did not feel justified the emergency tag placed on it.