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THE United Mexican States and the Republic of Argentina are stepping up efforts to secure several billion dollars each in committed lines of credit from the syndicated loan market to shore up their funds in the wake of the latest financial market turmoil.

A TIDAL WAVE of market volatility broke across central and eastern Europe this week, causing bond spreads to widen alarmingly across the board and leaving a trail of dazed issuers, lead managers and investors in its wake. The woes of the region were best illustrated by the trading performance of the Russian Federation's $2.4bn 10 year transaction -- which ballooned to 910bp over Treasuries at one point on Tuesday from 329bp over last Thursday, tightened back into 400bp over on Wednesday, traded back out to 650bp yesterday (Thursday) before recovering to 528bp over by the close in London.

Corporates The $1.8bn (increased from $1.5bn) standby facility being arranged for ICI by HSBC Investment Bank plc and NatWest Markets was signed last Thursday by power of attorney.

THE volatility in emerging equity markets this week claimed one new issue victim when Bonton, the Czech media company, decided to delay its initial public offering at the last minute. The offering of shares in the company, which was set up seven years by two local jazz musicians, is the first international IPO from the Czech Republic.

THE EQUITY operations of BZW and NatWest Markets could be under new ownership within the next few days, amid signs that their clearing bank parents are nearing agreement on selling the respective units. Despite the volatility in world equity markets over the last few days, executives at both firms are expecting announcements on their future imminently.

THE CAPITAL increases for Bayerische Vereinsbank and Volkswagen suffered sharply contrasting fortunes this week as investors started to become increasingly selective in their approach to new issues. While Vereinsbank's DM3bn rights issue has attracted strong demand from investors during its bookbuilding, Volkswagen announced it was postponing its DM6bn-D8bn capital increase indefinitely.

THE $15bn privatisation of Telecom Italia escaped disaster by the narrowest of margins this week, with the share sale being priced over the weekend and avoiding the volatility that has subsequently swept world stockmarkets. The transaction, the largest secondary share offering ever completed and the largest European privatisation to date, was effectively over by the time US and European markets dived on Monday and Tuesday.

THE HUNGARIAN government is forging ahead with the IPO of national telecom operator Matav on the Budapest and New York stock exchanges, despite the volatility in world stockmarkets and the sell-off in emerging market stocks. The success of this week's $213m privatisation of OTP Bank, the country's largest financial services organisation, augurs well for the $1bn Matav float -- underlying the demand for quality Hungarian stocks even in difficult market conditions.

THE AUSTRALIAN government stood firm against whipsawing stockmarkets this week to press ahead with the A$12bn flotation of shares in national telecom carrier Telstra. Despite the wild market turbulence in Asia, which triggered one-day falls and gains on the Australian market of up to 10% this week, Australia's largest ever share issue remains firmly on track.

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