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Source: Dealogic MTNWare

The French government settled much of the speculation surrounding the highly valuable mandates for the privatisations of Gaz de France and Electricité de France at the end of last week. Crédit Lyonnais and Morgan Stanley have been appointed by the Trésor to advise on the partial sale of Electricité de France. The company is then expected to appoint another bank to the syndicate for the deal. BNP Paribas, which has worked with the company in the past, has been linked with the deal, but this was dismissed by the bank a pure speculation.

In another week almost entirely bereft of new issue business, swap spreads in the two main markets were driven by the sharp movement in underlying government bond markets more than any other factor. Although Treasuries and Bunds rallied in the wake of this week's decision by the FOMC to leave interest rates unchanged, they gave back gains over the second half of the week amid considerable yield curve flattening.

Turkey's financial institutions are racing to get favourable terms and deals launched before the Turkish general elections on November 3. In the last week two of Turkey's leading financial institutions have returned to the loan market in the hope of securing refinancings on better terms.

The $80m 364 day bullet term loan for Export Credit Bank of Turkey (Turk Eximbank) is progressing smoothly in syndication with four banks already in. Commitments are due by August 26. Mandated arrangers are ABN Amro (bookrunner), Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi (bookrunner), BayernLB (facility agent), Commerzbank, Crédit Lyonnais, HVB Group (documentation), Natexis Banques Populaires and WestLB (bookrunner). The deal carries a margin of 135bp over Libor.

Swiss banking giants UBS and Credit Suisse reported their interim results this week, and the contrast between the two could not be starker. UBS reported net profits of Sfr1.3bn for the second quarter - 4% down on the same quarter last year and 2% down in the first quarter, but well above consensus forecasts. Credit Suisse also surprised.

The Financial Supervisory Service, South Korea's securities regulator, has given UBS Warburg a "severe disciplinary warning" and Merrill Lynch a "disciplinary warning" following an investigation into the early disclosure of research. A disciplinary warning is one step below a severe disciplinary warning. The measures will become official following Financial Supervisory Commission approval today (Friday).

The Financial Supervisory Service, South Korea's securities regulator, has given UBS Warburg a "severe disciplinary warning" and Merrill Lynch a "disciplinary warning" following an investigation into the early disclosure of research. A disciplinary warning is one step below a severe disciplinary warning. The measures will become official following Financial Supervisory Commission approval today (Friday).

Vivendi Environnement is battling with its convertible bond holders to change the terms for a convertible deal issued in 1999, in an attempt to avoid triggering a cross-default on Eu4.75bn of banking facilities. When the bonds, convertible into Vivendi Environnement shares, were issued three years ago, the water company was still part of the overall Vivendi group which acted as guarantor for the bond. And when Vivendi Environnement floated in 2000 Vivendi Universal remained as guarantor. At the time of the flotation some investors chose to convert the bonds, but Eu1.4bn of them remain unconverted.

Credit Suisse First Boston and JP Morgan are awaiting responses from sub-underwriters invited to join the £295m of senior debt backing the Clayton, Dubilier & Rice buy-out of Brake Bros. Since launch last week, the arrangers have received no declines.

Volkswagen will begin its first ever roadshow for a capital market issue on Monday, with plans to re-open the corporate credit market with a Eu1bn-plus intermediate maturity offering via Barclays Capital, Commerzbank and SG. The four day roadshow begins in Frankfurt and will pass through Munich, the Netherlands, Paris and London, with launch soon after through Volkswagen Financial Services AG, rated A1/A+.

This week was the quietest in the bond markets for many years as issuance was curtailed by the FOMC meeting, continuing volatility, and a historic week for US Treasury yields. The 10 year note touched 3.96% on Wednesday, the lowest level since 1963, and the five year note fell to 3.03%, a 40 year low. Both yields rose yesterday (Thursday), the 10 year to 4.20% and the five year to 3.33%. The early part of the week was dominated by the FOMC meeting. Expectations that the Fed would cut rates by 25bp were confounded and there was disappointment when it held the Fed funds rate at 1.75%.