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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.

Bank of America and GMAC - two names from the bank and finance sector - brought a combined $3bn of global bonds at five years last week. A slight opening of arbitrage possibilities played its part in enhancing the attractiveness of this maturity. Although dealers and treasury officials at NationsBank declined to comment on the use of proceeds, it is clear that the self led Bank of America $1.5bn five year deal was swapped to floating. NationsBank was seen hitting bids at five years both before and after the deal was launched and dealers assumed it was off-setting its own swap position.

Egypt The general syndication of the $220m international tranche of the senior secured facility for the Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (ECMS) led by international arrangers Chase Manhattan, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, Paribas and WestLB has effectively closed. Around 16 banks joined, achieving a roughly 20% oversubscription.

n World Bank Rating: Aaa/AAA

n KfW International Finance Guarantor: Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau

Australia

n GE Capital Australia Funding Guarantor: General Electric Capital Corp

US non-farm payroll figures released last Friday gave no respite to the dollar market and the long bond rose through the 6% yield level. The market now anxiously awaits this week's PPI data and the next FOMC meeting, with a rate hike expected. Credit spreads widened further, creating an uncomfortable background for $1.5bn five year bonds by BankAmerica, GMAC and Motorola.

Bank of Scotland made its first foray into the euro market this week with a Eu1bn five year floater that marked a further milestone in the development of a euro FRN market on a par with its dollar counterpart. Priced at a discount margin of 14bp over Euribor, the paper offered investors a liquid instrument at clearing levels. Successful placement was ensured by premarketing and bookbuilding, which also enabled Paribas to find the right price.

n Province of British Columbia Rating: Aa2/AA-

Non-US corporates have joined a rush of issuers seeking to come to the US bond markets ahead of the FOMC meeting at the end of June, with Qantas Airways yesterday launching a $350m 144A 10 year bond and UK's Diageo and United News & Media both looking to price $1bn bonds in the week ahead. On Thursday, Merrill Lynch launched Qantas's 7.75% of 2009 bonds at a price of 99.904 or 185bp over Treasuries to yield 7.764%, in line with market

Edward Crook has joined Salomon Smith Barney in New York where he will be a senior member of the bank's acquisition finance group and responsible for the high yield and leveraged loans business for the firm's financial sponsor clients. At Salomon, Crook will work with Chad Leat, head of the loans division, and Steve Jones, who is in charge of the high yield business. Crook joins from Merrill Lynch where he worked in the high yield and leveraged loan group for three years. His main focus was on the financial sponsor business in the US and Europe, working on deals such as the LBO of HMV that was arranged by Merrill and Warburg Dillon Read.