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Colombia's decision to pay up for European access paid off this week when it extended its euro curve with a Eu300m five year transaction. The deal, led by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and JP Morgan, carried an 11.25% coupon and was priced to yield a generous 11.5%, or 638bp over government bonds, which was about 225bp over Argentina and 275bp over Brazil in five year euros. The deal traded up to a price of 100.25 from a re-offer of 99.087.

Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) has caused a stir in Euro-CP by announcing its intention to re-enter the market. And to herald its new product-offering the bank has lured practically all of the Euro-CP desk from Barclays Capital. The shock move comes after almost a 10-year absence from Euro-CP. This will increase competition among providers of Euro-CPs and Euro-CDs and also open up the market to the possibility of other banks following suit. Banking consolidation on a global scale makes providing a complete range of services to clients almost a must. Former head of the desk at Barclays, Andy Jones, will now head up his team at CSFB. The other defectors from Barclays Capital include Rebecca Bishop and Colin Murphy. Jonathan Eyles, who recently left Barclays Capital for Citibank, also joins the team.

CosmOte, Greece's second mobile operator, priced its Dr156tr ($400m) IPO toward the bottom of the range as investor sentiment toward the overall telecoms market soured. But the deal was still the largest Greek IPO of the year. The shares were priced at Dr3,200 from a range of Dr3,120-Dr3,494, valuing the company at $2.7bn. Global Depository Shares (GDSs) were sold at $15.5906. Both will list on October 11.

* Finance for Danish Industry A/S Rating: A1

The relative rarity of a short dated $1bn two year global bond for triple-A rated GECC appealed to a nervous investor base this week as supply, credit and interest rate concerns returned to plague the US dollar fixed income market.

Borussia Dortmund is set to become the first German football club to float, listing on the Amtlicher Handel on October 31 with an IPO expected to raise more than Eu100m. The club will push on with the deal despite concerns that the European Commission will force clubs to abandon the traditional transfer system.

The relative rarity of a short dated $1bn two year global bond for triple-A rated GECC appealed to a nervous investor base this week as supply, credit and interest rate concerns returned to plague the US dollar fixed income market.

One of the world's largest food retailers, Koninklijke Ahold (Ahold), will join the market next week. The Netherlands-based company, which has operations both in the US and Europe, is to sign a euro2.5 billion ($2.15 billion) programme and give investors a rare chance to buy Dutch corporate paper. Last year proved to be a quiet time for Dutch corporates. DSM was the only one to sign and has yet to issue. However, Klaas Springer, treasurer at Ahold, is keen to stress that Ahold is not an exclusively Dutch retailer. "I don't want to sound arrogant but we are far more global than Tesco or Sainsbury's. We are a retailer with two big market bases. We are quite unique in having operations in both the US and Europe." Ahold is the largest retailer along the east coast of America, but it intends to use the Euro-MTN facility to reach European investors. There is no 144a option. It issued two $500 million yankee notes last year, one in the 10-year sector and one in the 30-year sector. This year Ahold has increased its stakes in supermarkets in Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and the US. Springer says: "The programme is for general funding purposes but if we make an acquisition we would fund that by finding an investor with the help of our dealers." Ahold's preference is for debt in the five- to 10-year sector and Springer admits that current investor focus on the short-end of the curve could cause problems. But he says the issuer is prepared to be flexible on pricing. "We do not want to disappoint investors with our benchmark. We want to give value for money," he says. Ahold will roadshow in Europe to sell its credit. But it will not launch a benchmark until it has completed its equity offering in May. After this it hopes the rating agencies, which have Ahold on negative outlook, will confirm its ratings. Moody's rates the retailer A3, Standard & Poor's rates it A-. The benchmark will most likely be in the five- to 10-year sector. ABN Amro is the arranger and will be a co-lead off the inaugural. Dealers off the facility are Chase Manhattan, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, ING Barings, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Salomon Smith Barney, Warburg Dillon Read and the arranger.

Poland RZB Austria has arranged a DM140m nine year term loan for Krono-Tech Sp.zo.o/ Melnox Sp.zo.o. The borrower is a member of Kronospan, one of Europe's leading forest products manufacturers.

The European Central Bank took the market by surprise yesterday (Thursday) when it upped rates by 25bp. Evidently, it decided a dual pronged defence of the ailing euro was in order. However, the rate change had little positive impact on the currency. It briefly rallied before falling back below Eu0.87/US$. Traders are now debating the possibility of further ECB intervention.

Brazil * Federative Republic of Brazil

Italian assets look set to take centre stage over the coming weeks as the loan market gears up to finance first the bid guarantees and then the licence acquisition costs of the country's UMTS auctions. At the same time, Italy's strongest corporate name, Enel SpA, is making its debut in the Euroloan markets as a private entity. Enel has mandated ABN Amro (joint bookrunner), Barclays Capital (joint bookrunner) and Mediobanca (joint bookrunner, documentation and facility agent) to arrange a Eu10bn revolving credit. The 364 day deal pays a margin of 27.5bp over Libor and a commitment fee of 10bp. A utilisation fee of 7.5bp is payable if more than 50% of the facility is drawn.