The highlight of last week was Fortescue Metals' securing US$2 billion in bridge-financing from JP Morgan and Royal Bank of Scotland, to refinance earlier high yield bonds. These set the company up as a going concern back in 2006. The bridging loan will also fund a premium of US$650 million for early redemption of the notes. The wider objective of the iron-ore miner and its bankers is to market a fresh-high yield bond in the US market to fund expansion. The value of this fund-raising has been put in a range from $4 billion to $6 billion.  The company, meanwhile, was rated BB+ by Fitch Rating, with a stable outlook.Santos took advantage of growing demand for bonds in the international market and raised a further €300 million, via hybrid issue, at a lower spread to a previous over-subscribed issue in September. The yield of the follow-on issue was 8.05 per cent, which equates to a spread of 580 basis points over euro seven-year swap rate, and is, thus, around 10 bps lower a spread than the prior issue.In the domestic bond market, Queensland has priced a new benchmark six per cent October 2015 non-guaranteed bond at 19 basis points above its previous 2015 guaranteed bond. The bond sale raised $1.6 billion for the state, and the yield works out to 5.49 per cent. While Australian issuers tap the overseas markets, the growing demand for Kangaroo bonds continues to see overseas issuers enter this market. Among them is France's Societe Generale, which raised $500 million via its first sale of Kangaroo bonds.  SocGen sold $250 million of a 6.75 per cent 2014 note, at a yield of 6.87 per cent, and another $250 million of floating rate notes of the same maturity at 150 bps over the three-month bank bills' swap rate.In possible forthcoming issues, ANZ is reported to have organized an investors' presentation for a likely Australian-dollar based bond offer, by Tower Australia. Tower doesn't have a credit rating yet. In addition, the Tatts Group is reported to be exploring fund-raising in the US, to a refinance debt facility due in June 2011. It has appointed three investment banks as agents. Other companies to explore the US market are Toll Holdings and Broadcast Australia.Over in New Zealand, Goodman Fielder is raising NZ$250 million, including over-subscription of NZ$75 million, at a minimum interest rate of 7.25 per cent, for maturity of May 2016. The issue opens on October 26. The company is not rated.