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UK water regulator Ofwat this week conditionally approved the wholly debt financed acquisition of Welsh Water by Glas Cymru, paving the way for the Welsh not-for-profit entity to approach the bond markets for over £1bn. However, the director general of water services, Philip Fletcher, made it clear that other water companies examining ways of exiting the industry via a zero equity structure, such as Kelda and Anglian Water, should not view the decision as a green light for a restructuring of the whole sector.

Freddie Mac took another step towards US Treasuries this week when it announced that its forthcoming Dutch auction sale of a $5bn three year Reference Note issue will have when-issued trading status. So far, nearly 100 investors have registered to take part and Freddie Mac described the list as "a veritable Who's Who" of investors. Freddie Mac's March 15, 2031 Reference Note issue will also be reopened for $1bn on February 13, but as one head of agencies remarked, the auction "is the issue of the day - the bulge bracket firms are quite outraged".

GMAC stormed the euro market this week with a Eu4bn five year transaction, amassing an impressive Eu10.25bn order book with neither a punitive new issue premium nor the benefit of a long premarketing process. The volume of orders took the issuer and lead managers Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank by surprise. GMAC's initial plans were for a Eu1bn-Eu2bn issue.

GMAC stormed the euro market this week with a Eu4bn five year transaction, amassing an impressive Eu10.25bn order book with neither a punitive new issue premium nor the benefit of a long premarketing process. The volume of orders took the issuer and lead managers Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank by surprise. GMAC's initial plans were for a Eu1bn-Eu2bn issue.

Two car manufacturers have been involved in the three-year sector. GMAC did a ¥1.5 billion ($12.78 million) note that pays interest of 1%. And Toyota Motor Finance did a $50 million trade that pays its coupons semi-annually. The trades take the total issuance for the year so far in the automotive industry to almost $10 billion. Deutsche Bank leads the bookrunner table for automotive issuance, according to MTNWare.

The US Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates for the second time in a month gave a lift to debt markets this week, fuelling investor appetite and creating a sharp contraction in corporate spreads. Following a 50bp cut on January 3, the Fed's decision on Wednesday to shave off a further 50bp allayed fears of a US economic slowdown and fired optimism in the corporate market on both sides of the Atlantic.

Iberdrola continues its funding spree. The Spanish utility, after remaining silent for the entire second half of 2000, has sold its fourth trade of the year. Like its two most recent trades, its latest foray is a euro-denominated two-year deal. The euro40 million ($37.4 million) note pays an annual coupon of 4.835% and matures February 6 2003.

InfoVista, a global leader in business service level management, is this week testing investors' appetite for technology stocks with a Eu110m secondary offering. Lehman Brothers, BNP Paribas and BE Unterburg Towbin are leading the deal with Fidelity Capital Marketing acting as co-manager in the US.

ABN Amro has paid a mere $275m for the North American wholesale clients business of ING Barings and the Furman Selz brokerage operation, with an additional $80m-$100m retention fund for key employees. The purchase price equates to asset value plus $12m goodwill. The wholesale business includes corporate finance, equities, trading and research, as well as the prime brokerage business, which was formerly part of Furman Selz and is regarded as the jewel in the crown. ABN Amro expects to be able, with further investment, to roll the prime brokerage franchise out further into the US and Asia.

Interbanca has sold its first trade of 2001: a three-year euro7 million ($6.85 million) note, which matures on March 8 2004. This is the 12th trade that the unrated Italian bank has launched since it signed its euro1.5 billion Euro-MTN programme in April 1999. All but two of the trades have been euro-denominated and most have been managed by ABN Amro, Banca di Roma or Caboto. In October Francesca del Nero, head of marketing at Interbanca, told MTNWeek: "We would probably have more opportunities if we were rated, but most of our investors know us well. I would say a rating is a minor advantage, but we have had no difficulty in selling our paper."

The Deutsche Börse Eu900m IPO is thought to have been more than 15 times oversubscribed by the end of yesterday (Thursday), with another day of bookbuilding to go. Retail demand in particular has been surprisingly strong for the issue, which is being managed by Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. The company is offering 2.9m shares at Eu285-Eu335, and the high price per share was expected to put off retail investors. Although the Börse is due to undergo a stock split, which would bring the price down to more common levels, private investors are often reluctant to pay three figure sums for each share. For this offering, however, retail investors are keen to subscribe. "Retail is coming in. Institutions are coming in. It is very interesting," said one banker on the syndicate.