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* ABB International Finance NV Guarantor: keepwell agreement from ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd

THE VENEZUELAN government is seeking congressional approval to raise a further $2.063 billion from supranationals and the international bond markets to plug its widening fiscal deficit. Planning Minister Teodoro Petkoff this week announced the extra debt raising plans as part of a broader package of reforms aimed at reducing its fiscal deficit, seen at around $4bn for this year.

Austria Arrangers Creditanstalt, HSBC and UBS have closed general syndication of the Asch7.5bn Connect Austria mobile telecoms project. The financing was 20% oversubscribed, demonstrating the strong appetite for telecoms related debt in the Euroloan markets.

EUROPEAN vendors have seized upon accelerated offerings to divest stakes in a variety of industries in highly valued stockmarkets. Said one equity capital markets chief at a European house: "It makes sense to use this system when the markets are so strong but when we have seen so much volatility." Under an accelerated sales process, institutional investors are marketed over a short time period, may see or talk to the management of the company whose shares are being sold, and are canvassed for their view on price.

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A WEEK after the market was wondering whether the £550m facility for Yorkshire Power was struggling to get off the ground, the arrangers have triumphantly reported that all is well and that a solid group of co-arrangers and senior lead managers have joined the deal. There were strong market mutterings that the pricing -- which ranges between 25bp and 32.5bp over the facility's four tranches -- was too tight and that the deal needed a few more basis points to see it through.

US CREDIT card issuer Capital One made its sterling debut this week, via a transaction that was Barclays Capital's fourth US credit card securitisation of 1998. The transaction was actually two £250m issues -- Capital One Master Trust's Series 1998-2, a one year bond, and Series 1998-3, with an expected maturity of three years.

PARIBAS launched the second asset backed bond in euros this week, and introduced a new asset class in Italian securitisation -- consumer loans. The Eu311m transaction parcelled loans for Findomestic SpA, the second largest Italian consumer credit provider after Fiatsava, the captive finance company of Fiat.

FIRST USA launched its fourth US credit card securitisation of 1998 this week, in a $842.25m deal sole managed by Salomon Smith Barney. The lead introduced a new application for the technique it has pioneered to allow the most subordinated part of a credit card transaction to be sold as a registered bond. Salomon primarily designed that security to allow US pension funds and other fund managers which follow ERISA investment criteria to buy the subordinated interest, and the first trials of the structure were sold fixed rate to meet their needs.

* The first term securitisation from Portugal may emerge as early as next week. Deutsche Bank is roadshowing a DM450m package of unsecured consumer loans for Banco Comercial Português. With a seven year final maturity, the deal will include a double-A rated senior tranche with a three year average life and a mezzanine, likely rated single-A, with a five year average life.

"Worst of" default swaps are default swaps on a basket of issuers in which only the first default is covered.

In recent years, value-at-risk has been considered one of the best measures of risk by banks and other financial institutions.