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After the frantic trading at the end of last week, euro dipped substantially yesterday as just eight notes were issued. Volumes were low and maturities lengthy. Merrill Lynch closed the largest trade - a euro35 million ($31.22 million) note that has a nine-year tenor. Lehman Brothers went for a three-year euro30 million trade with an annual interest payment. SPVs were looking to the long-term. Deutsche Bank's financial repackaged vehicle, Credit-Linked & Structured Securities, went out for 40-years with a euro25 million note. And BBVA vehicle, Atlanteo Capital, closed a euro12.80 million trade that goes out to November 25 2041. Elsewhere, ABB International Finance did a six-year euro30 million note that carries an annual interest payment frequency. International Bank for Reconstruction & Development closed a four-year euro20 million note. It pays a semi-annual coupon of 3.280%. And Kommunalkredit Austria issued a 17-year euro30 million note that carries an annual coupon of 6.080%.

German issuers dominated volume yet again in a busy day for euro trading. Nineteen trades were closed in all for $2.20 billion. Landesbank Schleswig-Holstein did an 18-month euro500 million ($447.80 million) trade. Landesbank Sachsen closed a euro250 million MTN and a euro200 million MTN. Both notes are for 18-months and carry quarterly interest payments. And Ireland-based, Sachsen LB Europe did a euro50 million plain vanilla note via JPMorgan. JPMorgan also co-lead-managed, along with Morgan Stanley, a euro600 million note for Ahold Finance USA. The note has a tenor of 11 years and has an annual coupon of 5.875%. Moody's rated the trade Baa1. Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten did a four-year euro100 million note. The trade pays a semi-annual coupon of 4.180% and was led by Goldman Sachs. Volvo Treasury closed two notes for euro5 million and euro7 million. And Generalitat Valenciana closed a one-year euro80 million note that pays interest semi-annually.

EVN AG, the Austrian multi-utility, made its debut in the euro market this week, launching a Eu300m 10 year offering - the largest bond issue from an Austrian corporate in euros. The transaction was premarketed at a level of 45bp over mid-swaps, but towards the end of last week lead manager BNP Paribas considered widening the spread and the deal was eventually priced at 50bp over, equivalent to 83bp over the 5% July 2011 Bund.

European high yield investors were this week offered a Eu145m deal from Findexa, the Norwegian classified directories operation, and a Eu100m issue for Global Automotive Logistics, whose main business is the distribution of Renault cars. Faced with the choice between the non-cyclical directories business and a company with exposure to the troubled auto industry, European high yield investors placed more orders for the defensive Findexa issue, but both were oversubcribed, even though question marks over the two credits remained.

Fitch has published its third quarterly report on the European leveraged loan market in 2001. In the report, the ratings agency poses the question: "All doom and gloom or temporary hiatus?"

* Martin Theisinger has become head of institutional sales and country head of asset management in Germany and Austria for Schroders Investment Management. He moves from JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management, where he was head of European sales. One of Theisinger's tasks will be to generate business which is coming out of the increased focus on private pension provision in Germany and Austria. * Adrian Frost, the former head of UK equities at Deutsche Asset Management, is to join Artemis, the Edinburgh-based asset management company. Frost starts work on December 10, and will be responsible for the Artemis Income Fund from January 2002.

Iberdrola, the Spanish electricity company, sold an aggressively priced Eu740m exchangeable into oil company Repsol this week, in a deal that attracted little interest from investors. Morgan Stanley led the deal which was just 1.4 times covered, according to a banker close to the deal. "It was an extremely competitive situation," said the banker. "We knew it would be a very tight transaction."

Katherine Garrett-Cox, the well known fund manager who joined Aberdeen Asset Management last September, has been promoted to board level. Aberdeen made the promotion on Tuesday at the same time as it announced a pre-tax profit for the year ending September 30 of £48.2m - an increase of £35.2m.

The South African markets sold off in bulk last week, leaving market participants in a state of confusion. The rand's six month slide against the dollar accelerated from Thursday last week (November 29). It fell from R9.85/$ to R10.3/$ on the day, and after a three day respite, it plummeted again to close at R11.25/$ yesterday, down 48% on January 1.

IBM has dropped Lehman Brothers as a dealer off its euro8 billion ($7.11 billion) Euro-MTN programme. ABN Amro, JPMorgan and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney have been added to the dealer panel.

The novel $500m straight bond-cum-exchangeable issue for Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), originally conceived under the acronym Opera, has won applause from the global investment community, after being priced close to the tight end of the revised indicated range and inside the initial marketing range. Joint bookrunners Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and UBS Warburg set out on November 29 to sell $500m of straight bonds for KDIC that would, subject to trigger events, later become exchangeable bonds. Despite being the first of its kind in Asia, the deal secured $5.5bn of orders.