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*Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter will manage the IPO of Burberry, the luxury fashion unit of Great Universal Stores (GUS). The deal is tipped to value the unit at around the £2bn marker. The listing is due to take place within the next 18 months. It will let Burberry establish itself as an individual brand. "This would mark a major point in the development of Burberry, and provide transparency for its increasing value within GUS," said GUS chief executive John Peace.

Globals * British Telecommunications plc

John Deere signed a $1 billion global CP programme on Tuesday, February 16 1999 in the names of three issuers: Deere & Company, John Deere Capital Corporation and John Deere Credit Group. John Deere has made occasional appearances in the international capital markets to date. Its last was with a $150 million fixed rate Eurobond in May 1998. Deutsche Bank was bookrunner for the trade and has also been chosen to arrange the CP facility. However, prior to the issue John Deere had not been in the market since 1988. It is best known for making tractors but is also involved in manufacturing other agricultural equipment, construction equipment and both commercial and consumer equipment. There are two dealer groups, one for its USCP and another for its Euro-CP. They comprise Deutsche Bank Securities and Salomon Smith Barney Incorporated, and Citibank International and Deutsche Bank, respectively. The Euro-CP IPA is Citibank and the USCP IPA is US Bank Trust National Association. The programme is rated P-1, A-1 and F1 by Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch IBCA.

* Unilever plc Guarantor: Unilever NV

The Swedish central banking unit, Venantius, has shown that it is as keen as ever on 10-year yen trades, issuing its 27th of the year on December 21. The ¥1 billion ($9.05 million) note has a Bermuda callable fixed-rate step-up structure attached, which increases the initial coupon of 1% by 0.35% each year. The final coupon will be 4.15%. BNP Paribas was the bookrunner. Katarina Lovgren, part of the Euro-MTN team at Venantius, says: "We will be sticking with this type of trade as it is great funding for us. We have done loads of 10-year yen trades this year and although we would like some longer-term funding, because this type of trade is callable after a year it is a good substitute for CP."

Volkswagen has followed its CP update, where it doubled its issuing ceiling, by increasing the issuing limit off its euro2.5 billion ($2.44 billion) debt issuance programme to euro5 billion. There is $2.39 billion outstanding off the programme from 33 trades. And the issuer has raised over $3 billion in 2000 from the facility using 14 different dealers. Credit Suisse First Boston has placed the greatest volume for Volkswagen: $682.95 million from five trades. The programme was signed in 1996, with Commerzbank and JP Morgan as co-arrangers.

Vorarlberger Landes- und Hypothekenbank has increased the issuing limit of its programme from euro1 billion ($891.8 million) to euro2 billion. Banca del Gottardo has been dropped as a dealer. According to MTNWare, it had failed to place any trades for the issuer. Nomura replaces it on the 10-strong dealer panel. The issuer has raised $808.52 million-worth of debt in five different currencies off its programme, which it signed in September 1999. Its favourite currency is Swiss francs.

US supermarket group Wal-Mart this week emphasised its leading position in the retail sector and its powerful attraction for investors by raising £500m of 30 year money at a spread several basis points inside price talk. The issue is the largest long dated corporate sterling deal, alongside Procter & Gamble's (P&G) £500m 30 year bond launched in January. Wal-Mart had planned a £300m issue priced in the 150bp area over Gilts, but an overwhelmingly positive response justified an increase to £500m and a narrowing in spread to 146bp.

US supermarket group Wal-Mart this week emphasised its leading position in the retail sector and its powerful attraction for investors by raising £500m of 30 year money at a spread several basis points inside price talk. The issue is the largest long dated corporate sterling deal, alongside Procter & Gamble's (P&G) £500m 30 year bond launched in January. Wal-Mart had planned a £300m issue priced in the 150bp area over Gilts, but an overwhelmingly positive response justified an increase to £500m and a narrowing in spread to 146bp.

The debt markets rallied this week in response to Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan's speech on Tuesday, in which he indicated that interest rates may be set to fall next year. After a long period of rate rises and market uncertainty, Greenspan said that the US economy had cooled, warning instead that a sharp slowdown in growth may become the greatest cause for alarm.

Chase Manhattan, the mandated lead arranger of the debt facilities for the £660m Wembley stadium project, is expected to meet executives from the Football Association (FA) today (Friday) and its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Limited to discuss modifying the deal's structure following the loan markets' unenthusiastic response to the deal. Chase recently launched the £485m project financing for the stadium to banks with invitations to join as arrangers with take-and-holds of £40m each.

France KBC Bank has launched the Eu200m syndicated facility for Entenial to arrangers.