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David Prosser, chief executive of the UK life assurance company Legal & General, this week called on the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to look into the activities of hedge funds. His main concerns centre on the damaging effects on the equity markets of short selling by hedge funds.

Invitations were sent out this week to banks to join the Eu130m seven year facility for the Municipality of Budapest. The facility carries a margin of 25bp-30bp over Euribor.

Arrangers ANZ Investment Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Mizuho, SG Asia, Standard Chartered and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp are finalising details of an $820m financing for Malaysian International Shipping Corp. Proceeds are to finance the purchase of liquefied natural gas tankers.

Compiled by Holger Kron Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt

Compiled by Holger Kron Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt

Compiled by Holger Kron Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt

UK borrowers were particularly busy in the dollar sector trading 10 notes, although volumes were small, totalling just $102.49m of the $1.66bn done. HSBC and Lloyds TSB closed three trades each. Citigroup/SSSB led a five year $10m deal for Abbey National Treasury Services.

German borrowers were by far the most active in the euro market, closing 17 of the 73 trades done. Germany was responsible for $995.29m of the $3.53bn traded. Bayerische Landesbank was the most active borrower from the country. Three of its deals - an Eu18.9m note and two Eu5.58m notes - were led by Morgan Stanley. The borrower's other trade was a Eu100m 12 year note. It pays an annual coupon of 6%. Crédit Lyonnais was the bookrunner.

Compiled by Richard Favis RBC Capital Markets, Johannesburg Tel: +27 11 784 5065

Over $1.1bn was traded in yen with the majority of trades going out over 30 years. Regular yen issuer Kommunalbanken was particularly active in the long dated sector, closing five deals which mature in July 2032. Combined, the notes total ¥2.7bn.

Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch hosted a meeting this week with the management of Jefferson Smurfit and Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP) for banks invited to sub-underwrite the Eu2.525bn debt backing MDP's Eu3.7bn buy-out of the paper and packaging company. Deutsche and Merrill are underwriting the facility.

This week has not been a good one for Turkey. To add to the problems of its already struggling government, Moody's Investors Service has revised the outlook for the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul's B1 foreign currency issuer rating to negative from stable. Moody's has also revised the outlook of the financial strength ratings for Türkiye Garanti Bankasi (D+), Finansbank (D+) and Türkiye Is Bankasi (D) from stable to negative and done the same with the B1 foreign currency issuer rating of Export Credit Bank of Turkey.