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* 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 £

The Republic of Turkey stepped back into the international capital markets this week with a Eu500m short dated bond that could re-open the euro denominated sector for emerging market sovereigns. And bankers agreed that in difficult market conditions, Turkey’s ability to raise Eu500m was an achievement — even if it did have to pay up to attain the size.

The Republic of Turkey stepped back into the international capital markets this week with a Eu500m short dated bond that could re-open the euro denominated sector for emerging market sovereigns. And bankers agreed that in difficult market conditions, Turkey’s ability to raise Eu500m was an achievement — even if it did have to pay up to attain the size.

Bulgaria Banks have been signed into the Eu10m EIB guarantee facility for First Investment Bank.

You have to feel slightly sorry for the good folk at Merrill Lynch, the firm that seems to find itself in the press almost every day, but for all of the wrong reasons. At the beginning of the year, the firm was in its customary position as the cornerstone of the US financial services industry. It had seen off blue-collar upstarts such as Charles Schwab, which had the impudence to try and tweak Merrill's tail. To its many admirers around the world, Merrill looked more solid than the Rock of Gibraltar. But 2001 has been an annus horibilis for Merrill. Rather than resembling the Rock of Gibraltar, the firm began to wobble like a blancmange at a summer staff picnic. Merrill discovered too late that it had too many eggs in the equities basket. When demand for equities disappeared, firms like Lehman caught a cold, but houses such as Merrill, Goldman and Morgan Stanley, whose investment banking businesses thrive in rising stockmarkets, contracted pneumonia.

Brazil * Banco Bradesco SA

* Achmea Hypotheekbank NV Rating: AA-

* Agence France Trésor Rating: Aaa/AAA

The number of euro trades was down as last week drew to a close but volumes were large. Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg closed an 18-month euro500 million ($448.71 million) note via Merrill Lynch. The plain vanilla note pays interest of 3m Euribor flat. Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen also did a euro500 million trade. The plain vanilla note carries a final coupon of 5.500% and was joint-led by ABN Amro and SG Investments. And Goldman Sachs closed a euro250 million MTN that pays interest singularly. Gas Natural was a busy issuer doing trades for euro40 million and euro100 million. Both notes pay interest quarterly and mature next October. Societe Generale also closed two trades for euro1.67 million and euro3.45 million. Both notes go out to October 19 2011. Bank Austria issued the longest-dated trade - a euro12 million plain vanilla trade that has a tenor of 30-years. The note pays a coupon of 5.935% and was led by HypoVereinsbank.