marketwatch KEY DEALS (TT May09 p11)

It may have been announced just before Valentine’s Day, but the market was unable to stop swooning about a €4bn issue by German industrial giant Siemens. The deal was not remarkable just for its size; the demand for it was pretty breathtaking too.

Retail investors were also alerted to an issue from another solid non-financial European giant as Unilever sought to raise £350m in a sterling-denominated bond.

Also in the sterling bond market but priced substantially higher was a £275m 10-year bond from the John Lewis Partnership.