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SMALLER Brazilian deals with shorter tenors were among the winners in the Latin new issue market in the past week, with Banco HSBC Bamerindus, Unibanco, Petrobras and Banco CCF all receiving a good response to their offerings. Unibanco was able to increase its Lit150bn two year deal to Lit200bn, led by Chase, after offering investors a highly attractive 7.5% coupon for such a short piece of paper.

THE DIFFICULTIES which bankers face in pricing Latin new issues look set to be highlighted again next week when the Republic of Argentina returns to the market with a Eu1bn 10 year offering. The deal should be the largest and most agressive emerging market deal in the euro-denominated market to date.

BRAZIL'S long awaited $1.25bn 10 year global bond slumped after launch this week as it fell victim to emerging market oversupply and criticism surrounding the deal. The offering is said to have been won by Merrill Lynch at around 350bp over Treasuries with fees of just 50 cents and no expenses, but was launched at a margin of 375bp.

THE REPUBLIC of Lebanon's first Eurobond of 1998 captured investors' imagination this week, enabling the B1/BB- rated Arab sovereign to launch a larger than expected $1bn issue this week - the largest ever sovereign Eurobond from the Middle East. Lead manager Paribas was originally mandated in March to lead manage a $500m three year issue, but positive feedback from investor roadshows in Geneva, London and Bahrain last week led to the addition of a $500m five year tranche to accommodate excess demand.

THE CITY of Moscow this week kicked off its $1.5bn Eurobond funding programme for 1998 with the launch of a well received DM500m three year issue via Credit Suisse First Boston. Moscow's debut Euro-DM offering featured a 9.125% coupon and was priced to yield 490bp over the Bobl 118 at a fixed re-offer price of 99.83. That was widely seen as offering fair value relative to the 490bp trading spread on the Russian Federation's DM1.25bn 9.375% five year issue launched last week and the 490bp trading margin on Moscow's $500m 9.5% three year transaction launched in May 1997.

MORGAN Stanley Dean Witter this week successfully completed its sale of stock in Akbank, the largest Turkish private sector bank, setting a positive tone for several other internationally targeted equity deals that are planned from Turkey. The US firm raised $123m for the selling shareholders, the powerful Sabanci family, selling ordinary shares in the form of ADRs to a mixture of international investors.

SBC WARBURG Dillon Read this week successfully completed its sale of 500,000 shares in bio-tech concern Neurosearch, one of a number of Danish stocks that will be offered this year to international investors. The shares were priced at Dkr550, a discount to the mid-point of the bid/offer spread of Dkr557 to Dkr562, but the shares rallied to Dkr585 level in the days after the trade was executed.

* SBC Warburg Dillon Read will soon launch the $100m IPO of the Italian manufacturer of emergency lighting fixtures Beghelli, after which the company will seek a listing for its shares. The international lead manager will be joined by BCI which will lead the sale of stock in the local market through an OPV. The transaction should be launched next month for completion in June.

IT WAS a mixed week in the US markets but a tantalising finish was promised as the Dow came within four points of the 9,000 level yesterday (Thursday). The market had been nervous throughout the week, with investors concerned about the Japanese economy. With the first quarter earnings due out soon, analysts are waiting to see if corporate profits have been dented by the Asian economic crisis. Nevertheless, analysts believe the market will continue to rally, driven by continuing evidence of a strong US economy, low interest rates and investor confidence in the stockmarket.

SALOMON Smith Barney and BBV this week launched the IPO of Melia Inversiones Americana (MIA), a Spanish corporate that is being spun off by its parent Sol Melia. Potential investors are being approached by the lead managers at an indicative price range of Pta5,735 to Pta6,704 and presentations and roadshows have already taken place throughout Europe, provoking considerable interest among continental and UK buyers.

THE SALE of stock in Telecom Corporation of New Zealand (TCNZ) is heading for a successful conclusion with lead managers Credit Suisse First Boston and Merrill Lynch preparing to price the offer today (Friday) and complete stock allocations over the weekend. The deal has been several times oversubscribed - the book was 3.5 times oversubscribed in Europe alone late last week.

Investors are looking forward to the upcoming flotation of Computacenter, the UK's largest privately owned IT group, which should be launched by lead manager Goldman Sachs at the end of this month. The London market is likely to welcome the deal, which will offer investors a liquid stock in the sector for the first time in recent years. Some 25% of the company's equity capital will be floated through the sale of ordinary shares with full voting rights. Provisional valuations put the company at between £850m and £900m, although it could be even higher depending on the indicated price range which the lead manager gives investors - and also the reception from international buyers.