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Colombia and Uruguay took advantage of growing demand from retail investors for Latin American euro denominated deals in the absence of any strong emerging market supply and amid renewed confidence of market stability after Argentina completed its debt swap. Colombia added Eu200m to its 11.375% 2008 issue, taking it to Eu800m, and Uruguay priced a Eu200m 10 year bond at 210bp over Bunds via Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and UBS Warburg.

The syndication of the £400m five year multi-currency revolver for Hays, the business services group, has been closed oversubscribed by arrangers Barclays, Lloyds TSB and WestLB. The borrower has opted for an increase to £450m. Fourteen banks came into the deal. The margin on the loan ranges between an initial 37.5bp and 45bp when fully drawn.

Turk Eximbank this week became the first top tier Turkish bank to award a mandate for a refinancing since Turkey's financial crisis. ABN Amro, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Bayerische Landesbank, Citibank, Commerzbank, Natexis Banques Populaires and WestLB are joint arrangers of the $75m one year term loan.

Globals * European Bank for Reconstruction & Development

* Barclays Bank plc Rating: Aa3/AA-

AT&T Corp, the US telecoms operator, signed a $4 billion multi-currency Euro-CP programme on Tuesday, June 5, with Goldman Sachs as arranger. The issuer signed a euro1 billion Euro-CP facility in 1994 but the shelf is unused, according to CPWare. This new programme will complement AT&T Corp's two existing US CP programmes. The programme is expected to start trading on Monday, June 11. Its ratings of A-1+ by Standard & Poor's and P-1 by Moody's mean it is entering an attractive sector of the market. Although telecoms have experienced credit problems recently, investors have not been put off. The dealers are the arranger, Citibank, Deutsche Bank and Lehman Brothers.

Bulgaria The EBRD has provided a Eu5m loan for the new bank ProCredit Bank.

International home appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corp has awarded ABN Amro and JP Morgan the mandate to lead manage a five year inaugural euro offering, set to be at least Eu300m. Launch will take place after the completion of a European roadshow starting on Monday June 11. "This debut transaction gives Whirlpool the opportunity to diversify its funding sources," Blair Clark, vice president, treasury department at Whirlpool, told EuroWeek. "We have a large presence in Europe, an affinity with the European sector, and it is a market where we want to issue debt.

Austria Arrangers Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (joint bookrunner), JP Morgan (joint bookrunner) and WestLB (joint bookrunner) launched the one stage syndication of the Eu1bn facility for Connect Austria yesterday (Thursday). A bank presentation will be held next Monday.

* Jackson National Life Funding LLC Rating: Aa3

The launch of the Eu200m Zentaris IPO this week highlighted the beginning of a potential new wave in European biotech offerings, despite the fact that investors are still reluctant to invest into the sector. The German cancer research corporation, which is being sold by chemicals maker Degussa, is the largest of a range of firms hoping to win investor approval across Scandinavia, France and Germany.

The new issues market got off to a cracking start this month, even as some analysts claimed that the pace would slow markedly after the record $80bn priced in May in the dollar sector alone. There was healthy issuance in both euros and dollars, and, particularly in euros, the calendar remains full. Euro swap spreads have narrowed steadily in recent weeks under the weight of new issues. The bid side of five year swap spreads is at or below 30bp, while 10 years is now trading at/or below 40bp over Bunds. There is about another Eu40bn due to be issued this month, a great deal of which should be swapped out of fixed euros. Therefore it would not be a surprise if swap spreads came in even more. The 10 year is expected to test the recent low of 35bp over Bunds.