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Both the euro and the dollar bond markets offered investors the widest range of credits to choose from this week as bankers continued to marvel at the astonishing tone of the major currency sectors in the first few weeks of 1999 and the wide variety of credits tapping them. Emerging market issuers made a welcome return to the international bond markets. Latin issuers continued to search for novel ways to raise funds, with Argentina raising $1bn of bonds with warrants and Pemex a similar amount in bonds linked to oil receivables.

The UK primary equity market will explode into life over the next few months as many of the country's best known industrial and consumer groups seek to tap the market for equity finance. One of the biggest deals may involve the flotation of some of the assets of the Canary Wharf Group, the 86 acre estate in London's Docklands in a deal that could be worth around £2bn.

Romania's state owned electricity authority Compania Nationala de Electricitate SA (Conel) this week secured overwhelming noteholder approval for amendments to the terms and conditions for dollar and yen debt issued by its predecessor company, Renel RA. The amendments, approved by close to 90% of investors, cover a $135m five year floating rate note and a ¥1.35bn three year fixed rate private placement launched by Renel via Merrill Lynch in February 1997 - to date the only Euromarket issue by a Romanian corporate.

Croatia will today (Friday) complete a series of pan-European investor presentations in support of a euro transaction which will provide an important test of sentiment towards the Baa3/BBB- rated republic and mark the start of a packed calendar of issuance by central and eastern European credits over the coming weeks. Poised to follow Croatia's issue are sovereign offerings from Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, alongside municipal bonds from the Czech Republic's Prague and Estonia's Tallinn as well as a bank issue from Eesti Ühispank.

Croatia will today (Friday) complete a series of pan-European investor presentations in support of a euro transaction which will provide an important test of sentiment towards the Baa3/BBB- rated republic and mark the start of a packed calendar of issuance by central and eastern European credits over the coming weeks. Poised to follow Croatia's issue are sovereign offerings from Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, alongside municipal bonds from the Czech Republic's Prague and Estonia's Tallinn as well as a bank issue from Eesti Ühispank.

Bronwyn Curtis, the chief economist at Nomura, has left the bank as a result of its previously announced shift in focus. Curtis, one of the City's most quoted economic commentators, is understood to have been unwilling to the take on the role Nomura had earmarked for her, in particular the punishing travelling schedule involved.

* Deutsche Siedlungs- und Landesrentenbank Rating: Aaa/AAA (Moody's/Fitch IBCA)

ARbitrage opportunities are still restricted in the two major currencies, and swap and new issue markets were slow in the first half of the week. However, by Wednesday and Thursday, swap-driven deals emerged in euros and dollars, eliciting offer-side interest in most maturities.

CSFB and Mediobanca are to launch the sale of stock in Ducati Motor Holdings Spa, the manufacturer of high performance motorcycles. The company is privately owned by Texas Pacific Group, the US management buyout group that bought Ducati in 1996 in a leveraged transaction alongside the then Deutsche Morgan Grenfell. The buyout resulted in the owners acquiring 51% of the group's equity capital. Two years later they bought the remaining 49%.

Poland Bank Handlowy w Warszawie has awarded an official mandate to Barclays, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Deutsche, Dresdner and WestLB to arrange a Eu175m facility.

Argentina * Republic of Argentina

* European Bank for Reconstruction & Development Rating: Aaa/AAA