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Freddie Mac launched its latest EuReference Note this week, a Eu5bn five year transaction, at a level some 20bp wider on a Libor basis than US agency dollar trading levels. But despite the cost, the transaction was a success for the borrower, attracting a book of Eu8bn. The 4.625% February 2007 EuReference Note came close to 4bp over mid-swaps. It is the first time Freddie Mac has priced five year paper over Libor. There is no directly comparable Freddie Mac paper in dollars, but Fannie Mae this week re-opened its January 2007 deal at almost 15bp through Libor.

After a disastrous year for growth stocks in 2001, biotech is back on the agenda in 2002 for issuers - if not investors. A number of biotech companies throughout Europe have announced their intention to list in the near future. But the requirements of investors have changed since the heady days of 2000. Immuno-Designed Molecules (IDM), the French biotechnology company, will be one of the first out of the blocks when the opportunity arises. But Hervé Duchesne de Lamotte, IDM's chief financial officer, explained that the company was under no illusions as to the poor state of the IPO market at the moment.

* Bank Austria

ING Bank has signed a euro10 billion ($8.78 billion) Euro-CP facility. ING Barings/BBL is the arranger and dealer and is joined by National Australia Bank (Hong Kong) and Westpac Banking Corporation (Hong Kong) as dealers for its Sydney operations.

ING Barings yesterday (Thursday) hosted the first investor presentations for the initial public offering for leading Russian dairy and fruit juice producer Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods. The pricing range for the IPO has been set at $18.5-$21.5, which will raise $196m-$227m on a gross basis. At the mid-point of the range, the deal will raise net $166m for the company.

As part of its growing Japanese financial markets team, ING Barings has brought in Andrew Green as a director in its high grade origination business in Asia. Green has been hired to focus on MTN issuers with a focus on placements in Tokyo. ING Barings hired Stuart Baker 18 months ago to increase its Japanese presence. In that time, Baker, who heads up ING Barings' financial markets operations in Japan, has more than doubled the size of the financial markets team in Japan to over 45 people.

Jon Thornton, who left Aberdeen Asset Management two weeks ago, will join Gartmore as head of UK equities at the end of the month. The fund manager is one of the UK's best known investors. He left Aberdeen along with five other fund managers following a restructuring.

Russia's deputy finance minister Sergei Kolotukhin is touring the US in a trip organised by Russian investment bank Troika Dialog. The minister is attempting to drum up interest in the Russian turnaround story. Kolotukhin spoke to several fixed income and equity investors about structural reforms and government finances.

Leak has come to the conclusion that skiing must be one of the entrance requirements for investment banking these days. Everyone is abandoning their trading duties and is flying off to various slopes around Europe. This week Commerzbank's head MTN trader, Gayle Turner, and head of UBS Warburg's desk, Gavin Eddy, are showing off what they can do on the piste. But Gavin and Gayle should be on their guard, because rumour has it that a strange man has been spotted hanging around some of the more popular ski resorts in France, and we're not talking about ex-JPMorgan trader Rupert Lewis. Despite the biting cold winds, this man wears nothing but sandals. His name? Phillippe Philloppe... But Leak has news of something that will definitely warm you up after freezing your nether regions on the ski slopes of Europe... Islandsbanki is plotting to subject the MTN market to Thorrablot Two... just when you thought it was safe to go back to the water, the dried shark meat and brennivin returns. After last year's shenanigans at Waterstones's bookstore in London's Piccadilly, we can't wait to see what they have lined up for us this year.

The loan market is gearing up for the second big Italian power asset sale - the Eu4bn disposal of Eurogen by Enel. The Eurogen sale is also the biggest, representing some 7,000MW of capacity.

Hedge funds are expected to perform strongly this year, as economic uncertainty continues to cloud the prospects for other asset classes. Ron Mitchell, chief executive officer of Liberty Ermitage, part of the Standard Bank Group and manager of $800m of hedge fund assets, told EuroWeek that conservative hedge fund strategies have never been so compelling.