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Financial issuers are finding new issuance conditions tough as a result of general market turbulence and the focus of investors on growth stocks. This week's IPO from investment management firm Neuberger Berman followed last week's flotation from Blackrock. Although both offerings were sold within their price ranges, the erratic performance of the Dow Jones in recent weeks, and falling prices for listed competitors, kept investors on the sidelines until the last minute.

Warburg Dillon Read will next week begin roadshowing the first ever Eurobond by an Egyptian borrower - a $100m five year Euro/144A dollar issue for leading private sector company, Lakah Group. Investor presentations have been scheduled for the Gulf, Europe and the US, with launch likely to take place towards the end of October.

France TELEcom, following its injection of $5.5bn into NTL and purchase of Vodafone Airtouch's 17.24% stake in E-Plus Mobilfunk, is widely tipped to bring a sizeable facility to market before the year end. The French telecom giant has been in preliminary talks with its bankers over putting together either a delayed acquisition facility or a new core facility that will tie up existing bilaterals and other pieces of existing debt. It already has a large amount of cash, however, following the sale of its stake in Sprint for Ffr40bn.

Freddie Mac will demonstrate its intent to develop broader and deeper demand for its Reference Note product in Europe when it launches a $4bn three year issue next week. The US agency's funding officials have conducted a series of meetings with UK and continental investors over the past few days to build awareness of its product, and Freddie Mac has also taken the rare step of appointing two European lead managers to the deal. ABN Amro and Warburg Dillon Read will be joined by a sole US firm, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, as bookrunners on the offering.

Freddie Mac will demonstrate its intent to develop broader and deeper demand for its Reference Note product in Europe when it launches a $4bn three year issue next week. The US agency's funding officials have conducted a series of meetings with UK and continental investors over the past few days to build awareness of its product, and Freddie Mac has also taken the rare step of appointing two European lead managers to the deal. ABN Amro and Warburg Dillon Read will be joined by a sole US firm, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, as bookrunners on the offering.

Poland's leading telecoms group TPSA this week began a series of European investor presentations ahead of arguably the most important bond offering from central and eastern Europe this quarter. TPSA officials and bankers from lead managers Deutsche Bank and Salomon Smith Barney have visited Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Milan, and will host a meeting in Madrid today (Friday). A final roadshow will be held in London on Monday, with launch expected shortly thereafter.

Ultrapar this week became the first Brazilian company since 1997 to launch an international initial public offering, but was forced to substantially cut its pricing to do so. Despite overwhelming opinion among investors and analysts that the chemical and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) company was one of the best equity stories out of the region, global coordinator Morgan Stanley Dean Witter had to cut initial price talk of $16 to $18 per ADS to $13.50 to $14.50 and price at $13.50.

SCOTTISH & NEWCASTLE has secured a stunning success in its bid to raise £1.55bn from the loan market to back its acquisition of the pubs, restaurants and budget hotels of Greenalls Group plc. Arranger Warburg Dillon Read launched the deal to 28 sub-underwriting co-arrangers in mid-September, offering banks a fee of 37.5bp for underwriting £125m.

The £175m five year revolver for global logistics company Ocean Group has been signed and increased to £225m. Deutsche Bank is the arranger. Participants are Allied Irish Banks, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya, Banco di Napoli, Bank Austria Creditanstalt International, Bank of America, Bank of Scotland, Barclays Bank, Citibank, Rabobank International, Crédit Lyonnais, Den Danske Bank, Fortis Bank, HSBC Bank, ING Bank, KBC Bank, Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz, Lloyds TSB Bank, National Australia Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Sanwa Bank and Westdeutsche Landesbank.