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Is the European equities market in the foothills of the next bull market? Syndicate bankers are cautious — but there is no denying the positive direction that stock markets have moved in since the beginning of October. By Steve Metcalfe

SNS Bank Nederland this week launched the fourth deal from its Hermes mortgage backed securitisation programme via lead managers BNP Paribas and UBS Warburg. SNS Bank is one of the regular mortgage backed issuers out of the Netherlands and it has consistently worked to lower spreads and increase the investor base of this sector. On this deal it launched an all out assault in an attempt to attract new investors into its programme. During eight days of comprehensive European roadshows SNS made one on one presentations with many investors that had not bought asset backed bonds before.

Sonera, the Finnish telecoms company, this week revealed its strategy to cut back its high debt levels, announcing a Eu1bn deeply discounted rights issue that will spearhead its efforts. The package, announced on Monday by the company's new management team, has been a long time coming from the telecoms company, which has failed to make headway in foreign markets and whose debts have continued to rise. But one telecoms analyst was surprised at the size of the rights issue, which represents a quarter of Sonera's market capitalisation.

Market report Compiled by Richard Favis, RBC DS Global Markets, Johannesburg

* Alliance & Leicester plc Rating: A1

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The resurgence in activity continued this week as a host of borrowers sought to raise funds amid an improving bond market environment, while others lined up further supply. In dollars, primary global supply amounted to more than $19bn, including a $6bn five year benchmark from Fannie Mae that was launched on Monday. In the corporate sector, Honeywell International raised $1bn through a 10 year offering yesterday (Thursday), after BellSouth had launched a multi-tranche $2.75bn transaction on Monday.

Opportunities for lower rated credits in the dollar primary markets have begun to open up this week for the first time since the September 11 terrorist attacks. For the past few weeks the markets have been closed to all but the most highly rated borrowers. Issuers such as the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank capitalised on the reluctance of investors to buy assets from inferior credits, or, indeed, to venture very far along the yield curve.

* Dexia Municipal Agency Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

Swiss Re, the world's second largest reinsurer, kicked off its planned capital increase on Monday with Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston as lead managers. The deal, which could be as large as Eu3.2bn, will finance the acquisition of Lincoln Re, which Swiss Re announced in July, and also strengthen the company's balance sheet in anticipation of an upsurge of business over the coming months.

KPNQwest, the Dutch alternative telecoms carrier, has announced that it will acquire the Ebone and central Europe businesses of Global TeleSystems (GTS), the bankrupt pan-European broadband and IP services company. The acquisition will cost KPNQwest Eu645m in the form of Eu435m of assumed net debt and by the issue of Eu210m of new convertible bonds to GTS bondholders. The deal has been heralded by those in the market as an important deal both for KPNQwest and also for the alternative telecoms sector as a whole.

Rexam, the UK container manufacturer, has signed a £