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ABB disappointed bankers and investors when it announced a profit warning on Monday and released weak third quarter results yesterday (Thursday). As a result, the Swiss/Swedish conglomerate was the victim of ratings slashes by Moodyís and Standard Poorís to Baa3 and BBB+ respectively. It posted a net loss of $183m in Q3, and from June 2002 to September 30 its debt rose from $5.2bn to $5.5bn.

The NT$3.5bn facility for President Securities Corp has been oversubscribed following a strong market response and was increased to NT$3.5bn from NT$3bn. The facility is divided between a NT$1.75bn three year revolving credit and a NT$1.75bn three year note issuance facility.

The Bht4bn six year refinancing for Total Access Communications has closed with signing set for October 29 in Bangkok. The arrangers are ABN Amro and its Thai subsidiary Bank Asia pledging Bht1.525bn, and Development Bank of Singapore, Thai Danu Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp committing Bht887.5m each.

Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB) surprised the sterling market this week with a £429.7m ($664.7m) three year bond issue, its first non-dollar offering in four years. The deal, lead managed by Lehman Brothers, was issued at par to yield 4.355% and was launched on the back of reverse enquiry.

After a weekend of working on valuations for Vivendi Universal's (VU) publishing assets the private equity consortia left in the auction for the businesses were dealt a blow when VU announced on Wednesday that it had chosen trade buyer Lagardère as its preferred bidder. EuroWeek understands that the PAI-led consortium, which included KKR, Apax Partners, Blackstone and Thomas Lee, backed by underwritten bank debt from CIBC, Crédit Agricole Indosuez, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers was second in the running.

Sex in the City? Surely not, but even we puritanical Scottish Presbyterians have been to see the blue plaque on the old trading floor of Kleinwort Benson Securities that commemorates steamy hanky-panky many years ago. Also, with so many young bankers staring at silent telephones and wondering whether they will have a job in the New Year, it isn't at all surprising that inter-office thoughts turn to the birds and the bees.

The Eurodollar sector took centre stage this week in the international bond markets as a quartet of triple-A rated issuers took advantage of the sell-off in the US Treasury market and the consequent increase in investor demand for top quality dollar product. And the market expects to see more triple-A candidates in the coming week.

Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), the Caracas-based multilateral, sneaked into the Yankee market at the beginning of this week to issue $85m of 20 year bonds to two US investors. Although executed on a reverse enquiry basis by Merrill Lynch, the deal could mark a last spurt of Latin bond issuance over the next four weeks before the market wraps up for the year.

Amount: Eu150m Maturity: November 7, 2005

Amount: Eu1.051bn Rating: Moody's/Fitch