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FORD MOTOR Credit took the concept of benchmark corporate bond issuance to a new level this week when it announced a US agency style programme through which it will raise up to $10bn in 1999.

IT WAS A mixed week for new issues, and many new names found market conditions tough. Several new issues were held back and others were forced to revise terms downwards to stay on track. Not even internet stocks were immune to the mixed mood on Wall Street. Merrill Lynch delayed the flotation for Interliant which was originally expected last week. The company hosts a variety of sites on the internet, and is trying to raise funds to expand its business.

GLOBAL co-ordinators Goldman Sachs and ING Barings this week launched the public offer of stock in Libertel, the second largest mobile telecoms company in the Netherlands. The vendor is ING Groep, which is divesting a 22.5% stake in the company. The deal is expected to be well received by investors and will be one of the largest IPOs of the year, bringing much needed liquidity to the Amsterdam market. Dutch corporates have been unwilling to tap their market in the past few months, deterred by the underlying volatility.

* World Bank Rating: Aaa/AAA

ISRAEL IS set to lead a long line of high grade emerging market issuers to the international bond markets over the coming weeks with its debut issue in the euro sector. The pipeline is relatively full despite the latest concerns about Russia's ability to meet its debt repayments and the volatility created by US interest rate concerns.

India Lead arranger and coordinator ANZ Investment Bank expects to wrap up the debt selldown of the $165m shipping facility for the Enron Mitsui OSK Lines LNG carrier by next week.

EUROWEEK understands that Deutsche Bank will launch syndication of the Eu7bn 364 day term loan for Mannesmann early next week. The facility was for Eu7.95bn but has been cut as a result of the successful Eu3bn bond issue that was launched two weeks ago. Eight banks, all German, have joined sole arranger Deutsche in the deal. They are Bayerische Landesbank, Commerzbank, DG Bank, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, WestLB, Bankgesellschaft Berlin, Helaba and Landesbank Baden Wuerttemberg.

GOVERNMENT bond markets sold off on Tuesday following the release of stronger than expected NAPM figures in the US. Already spooked by the Fed's shift to a tightening stance, the market is holding its breath ahead of non-farm payroll data today (Friday). The employment data is to hold the key to sentiment for coming weeks. While strong data could push the long bond over 6%, it could also offer the market a new bottom and the potential for more stability. That could provide a springboard for new issuance.

CSFB AND MPS are marketing stock in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) following the approval this week of the deal by Consob, the Italian stock exchange authority. The Italian bank - the world's oldest - is being floated in a deal that could raise as much as Eu2.1bn.

TWO OF central and eastern Europe's leading credits braved the volatility of the emerging markets by launching euro denominated transactions - with mixed results. The City of Prague made its debut in the single currency markets - only its second international bond issue - when it brought its long awaited Eu200m 10 year transaction via ABN Amro and Deutsche Bank.

THE Eu2bn one year credit for GEC Plc has been massively oversubscribed in syndication and will be increased to Eu2.5bn, Euroweek can reveal. Even after the increase, lenders still had to be scaled back. While few bankers doubted GEC's popularity in the loan market, the immense appetite for the company's paper has surprised nearly all those involved in the Euroloan market - it has raised Eu8.5bn in little over 12 months.