Pre-migration untagged articles

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group gave euro investors their yearly dose of fixed rate senior paper this week, as it brought a Eu1.25bn bond via Deutsche Bank and Citigroup. It quickly became apparent as the leads started marketing the transaction that investors had been waiting for ANZ to come to market.

A 'Great White Pincher' on a stick. A cryptic invite detailing unmentionable food. And the promise of a hangover of Viking proportions. What else could it be but an invite to Íslandsbanki's annual midwinter feast, Thorrablot. It's that time of year again. As the invite put it so eloquently: "Yes, the creaking boat of destiny has once again crossed the ocean of time to bring us all together again for that annual homage to Somniosus microcephalus" — that's the Greenland shark to those classically challenged.

So Larry Fink's BlackRock has spurned the advances of Morgan Stanley and celebrated Valentine's Day by announcing eternal love for Merrill Lynch.

Network Rail, which operates the British rail infrastructure, has issued its first Canadian dollar bond. The C$500m 10 year Maple bond pays a coupon of 4.408% and was led by Merrill Lynch and the Royal Bank of Canada.

Exotic currencies stole the limelight in an otherwise lacklustre EuroMTN market this week.

While UBS rides the crest of a wave, the good Zurich citizens are splashing out on an extra cream bun for elevenses to celebrate its increased shareholder dividend.

Mexico and Brazil's bonds tightened to record low spreads on Thursday after both countries announced multi-billion dollar tender offers and buybacks of their dollar debt.

Dana, the auto parts company gapped wider from 23.5%/24% upfront yesterday morning to 31% upfront later in the day. In terms of a running price, it was 440bp wider, said auto dealers in New York. Dana is due to renegotiate its bank lines this month. However, there is speculation that it is struggling to do so. It was also said that even if it does successfully renegotiate its lines, they will be on the lines of debtor in possession (DIP) rules. This allows financing to continue even if a firm is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and is usually seen as a precursor to such a step.

Colt Telecom was a big mover yesterday. It narrowed by around 200bp to 210bp/230bp after it announced that it will buy back up to £300m of bonds. It has notes due to mature in 2007, 2008 and 2009. However, what proved, more exciting than the bond buyback was the news that it will create a holding company to execute the buyback. This led to market speculation that the holding company will issue all further debt, leaving Colt Telecom debt-free.

Citing "an unsustainable current account deficit and soaring internal indebtedness", rating agency Fitch this week revised its outlook on Iceland's foreign currency debt to negative from stable and, alongside a decline of 7% in the value of the króna, there was a marked sell-off in Icelandic credit in the CDS market. However, by the end of the week, levels had been, in large measure, restored and the earlier rush for the exit doors was beginning to look like a panic trade.