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After a couple of days of hard trading the yen market has come back down to normal levels. Thirty-two deals were announced yesterday, taking the total number of yen trades done this year past the 7,300 mark. As usual the financial sector dominated, but a few corporates and a few corporate finance firms were getting involved too. Orix USA Corp, the leasing company, announced a ¥1 billion ($8.4 million) seven-year note. It pays a final coupon of 0.8%. GMAC Australia did a ¥1 billion trade that goes out to September 2004, and GMAC International Finance announced a ¥20 billion one-year note. MMC International Finance did two trades. One was a ¥6 billion trade, the other a ¥1 billion trade. Both have terms of three months. The only supranational on show was European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It did two trades, one for ¥3 billion tat goes out to September 2016, the other a ¥1.2 million note with a 21-year tenor. There was only one financial repackaged vehicle issuing too. Mascot Investments did three trades between ¥625 million and ¥1 billion, and all have terms of eight years. There were a few public finance issuers doing business. Merrill Lynch led a deal for Kommunekredit. It was a ¥500 million 15-year note. And Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingsladen announced a ¥1 billion trade that matures in September 2013. It pays a final coupon of 5.9%. Svensk Exportkredit did four notes. The biggest, a ¥10 billion note, was also the shortest. It matures in February next year. The others were for ¥1 billion, ¥300 million and ¥500 million and go out to September 2016, March 2031 and September 2031 respectively.

Although the number of yen trades has fallen towards the end of the week, the sizes are quite good. DePfa Deutsche Pfandbriefbank did a ¥50 billion ($420.15 million) note that goes out to June 2003. It pays a final coupon of 0.15%. Jackson National Life Funding did a ¥20 billion five-year trade that pays a final coupon of 3.5%. It was the issuer's third yen note of the year. And Monumental Global Funding announced a ¥10- billion trade that matures in May 2006. Its final coupon is 3.5%. Mascot Investments, the Daiwa SMBC-arranged SPV, announced four trades, two for ¥600 million, one for ¥1 billion and one for ¥500 million. They have maturities of eight, 10, three and four years respectively. Other financial repackaged borrowers issuing were B Spires, with a ¥4 billion six-month trade, Helix Investments with a ¥2 billion three-year note and a ¥1 billion eight-year note, and Voyager (Cayman) with a ¥600 million 10-year note.

Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) has added LVMH (Japan) as an issuer to its Euro-MTN programme. The programme's limit has been upped to euro5 billion ($4.46 billion) from euro2 billion. Credit Agricole Indosuez and HSBC CCF have been added to the dealer panel. Nomura International has been dropped as a dealer. The programme has $2.09 billion outstanding off 18 trades.

Moody's and Standard & Poor's (S&P) came under the spotlight on Monday for their differing stances on Allied Domecq, after the UK wine and spirits company successfully won a majority stake in New Zealand winemaker Montana Group. Moody's affirmed Allied's A3 rating and took it off review for possible downgrade, while S&P cut the company from A- to BBB+ and assigned a negative outlook. Allied now carries a split rating. However, analysts were not surprised by the situation.

* After reorganising its research along global sector lines, ABN Amro has created the post of deputy global head of research to work under global research head Tina Beattie. Stewart Callaghan will take up the position as deputy in November after handing over the reins of his current position, head of Asian research, to Michael Baptista.

Estonia Fitch has upgraded the Republic of Estonia to A- from BBB+. The move follows a similar upgrade from Moody's a week earlier. Standard & Poor's is also expected to upgrade the sovereign to a single-A in time for its Eu100m five year debut Eurobond via Credit Suisse First Boston, expected by October.

* Deutsche Bahn Finance BV Guarantor: Deutsche Bahn AG

Seventeen trades were closed in sterling, Hong Kong dollar, Australian dollar, Swiss franc and Danish krone yesterday. Australian dollar has been absent for more than a week, but was back with a three-month A$10 million ($5.22 million) note from HSBC Investment Bank and a A$25 million five year trade from Helaba that pays a final coupon of 5.5%. Commerzbank International and Svensk Exportkredit (SEK) were in Swiss franc and Danish krone respectively. The Sfr36 million ($21.11 million) matures in 2004 and is due on September 17, while SEK's Dkr400 million ($47.79 million) syndicated trade was lead managed by Fortis Bank and KBC International. It goes out to 2009 and pays a final coupon of 5.375%. Bank of Scotland Treasury Services, UBS and 3i Group issued sterling notes with maturities between one and three years. And Hong Kong dollar was busy - 10 trades were closed and eight mature in less than three months.

French car maker Peugeot took the euro corporate sector by storm yesterday (Thursday) with a Eu1.5bn 10 year bond, capitalising on its rarity value, strong business credentials and a timely removal of its negative rating outlook by Standard & Poor's. Leads ABN Amro, Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), HSBC and JP Morgan were faced with a book of over Eu5bn for the Eu1.5bn deal despite pricing that, compared with its US peers, looked prohibitively tight.

* Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG Rating: Aaa/AAA

Finland Although pricing for the Eu2bn acquisition financing for UPM-Kymmene has not been released, EuroWeek understands that the fees for a top ticket will be around 20bp-25bp.

Two telecoms companies this week demonstrated the value of bookbuilding behind closed doors in the face of a sceptical market. The two companies - MM02 (BT Wireless) and Liberty Media - both suffering from the negative sentiment and tightening liquidity of the telecom finance sector, are set to announce large and committed bank lines within the next few days.