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Euro trading closed the week on a high with 14 trades - four of which came from Eksportfinans. The issuer closed two trades for euro2.75 million ($2.47 million) and two trades for euro4 million. The separate notes make up one large deal that is broken down into four tranches. All the notes are credit-linked. One of the euro2.75 million trades matures on August 30 2008. The other three issues reach out to August 2011. Fellow Norwegian issuer, Union Bank of Norway, did a five-year euro50 million MTN that pays interest quarterly. Vivendi Environnement closed the largest trade - a euro500 million note that has a tenor of four years. The note pays interest annually and has a final coupon of 4.750%. Banque Internationale a Luxembourg closed the shortest-dated trade - a euro3.70 million note that matures on January 25 of next year.

Just ten euro trades were closed yesterday but some high volumes were seen. Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz closed a euro500 million ($451.43 million) FRN via Merrill Lynch. The note has a tenor of three years. Westfalische Hypothekenbank also looked for a three-year maturity, closing for euro250 million. And ABN Amro Bouwfonds Nederlandse Gemeenten did a ten-year euro150 million note that carries an annual coupon of 5.270%. Fiat Finance & Trade continues to trade in euro - yesterday with a three-year euro33 million MTN. The note has a coupon of 4.840% and is paid on an annual basis. JPMorgan was the bookrunner. BNP Paribas were not trading but did lead-manage a euro15 million trade for Anglo Irish Bank. The note has a maturity of three-years. Also looking for a tenor of three years was NIB Capital Bank who did a euro4 million note via CDC IXIS Capital Markets. The note pays a coupon of 2.000% annually and the final payoff is linked to either the Euro360, the S&P 500 or the Swiss market index. Some issuers looked for shorter maturities. Gas Natural closed a one-year euro30 million MTN. Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat Luxembourg also went for a one-year trade for euro11 million. And Morgan Stanley's financial repackaged vehicle, ELAN, did a euro50 million note that matures on February 16 2003.

Argentina has taken what some fear are its first steps towards default by planning a local debt swap of as much as $14bn of old bonds at below market rates.

Argentina has taken what some fear are its first steps towards default by planning a local debt swap of as much as $14bn of old bonds at below market rates.

Retail and institutional investors are set go to court over the collapse of Railtrack, with lawyers offering differing ideas as to how best to form a case against the government. Class Law, a niche UK law firm specialising in lawsuits, said that just five days after issuing an appeal, 3,500 private investors had come forward.

Retail and institutional investors are set go to court over the collapse of Railtrack, with lawyers offering differing ideas as to how best to form a case against the government. Class Law, a niche UK law firm specialising in lawsuits, said that just five days after issuing an appeal, 3,500 private investors had come forward.

It is never too early to enter the party spirit at Merrill Lynch it seems. Dean Fogg, dogged MTN trader at the bank, arrived back from a break in Amsterdam last week and obviously did not get his full quota of revelry. He was looking forward to a free wine tasting do last night with his sales team and the crowd at Citibank Credit Structures, but unfortunately had to miss it because his train line wasn't running late enough. Having heard what Anthony Everill's bedtime is on a night out (3.45 am, to be precise) we're not surprised. If you still feel like knocking back a few drinks next week though Dean, BNP Paribas is hosting its vodka and caviar event on Wednesday. And the very next day Daniel Cogoi, head trader at BNP and the market's favourite for the December slot in our 2002 calendar, will be speaking at the MTN conference. The fact that he needs to be talking coherently by 9am after a night on the booze might have deterred less hardy folk. The MTN origination seat at Merrill is still vacant after Rodolfo Diotallevi's departure a month ago. The word is it may be staying that way for a while...

Goldman Sachs raised Eu111m as it completed a block trade in Munich Re, the German reinsurance company, this week. The risk trade on Monday of 390,000 shares was priced at Eu285. This offered a 4.5% discount to Munich Re's open on Monday morning. The deal was 10 times oversubscribed and gives some indication of the value that is still left in the insurance sector. Having taken an initial hit from investors after the attacks of September 11, the insurance sector is now back to pre-September 11 levels.

Jobs are to go at Commerzbank as it announced further cost cutting measures following a profit warning for the third quarter. Although the bank has said it is not for sale, the news led to renewed speculation about a possible takeover. "It is difficult to see what Commerzbank can do themselves," said Olivier Szwarcberg, a bank analyst at Bear Stearns. "Apparently they have identified costs as the area where they need to improve, but their track record with cost-cutting is hardly impressive."

The City of Moscow prised open the long awaited market for Russian debt this week by pulling off its Eu300m three year issue through lead managers ING Barings and UBS Warburg.

ahrain More details have emerged this week on the bank groups being formed for the bidding for the financing mandate on the $1.7bn Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) expansion project.

The Hungarian development bank, Magyar Fejlesztési Bank (MFB) is talking to banks about Eu400m-Eu500m of borrowings to pay for the purchase of a 51% stake in the gas interests of Hungarian oil company MOL. MFB is a 100% state owned public agency, and EuroWeek understands that the borrowings will carry a state guarantee. MFB is considering either a loan or a bond. However, it is considering a 10 year maturity, and bankers say that this will probably rule out the possibility of a loan.