Apple has launched a “benchmark” sized Australian dollar corporate bond issue, its first ever sale in the currency, with order books “swelling to $1.2 billion within two hours,” reports the Sydney Morning Herald (http://tinyurl.com/pg67qwy).
   
Fixed-income investors were notified on Thursday morning that the AA+ rated maker of the iPhone would launch a two-part “benchmark” bond sale – offering four- and seven-year bonds. The Sydney Morning Herald notes that a “benchmark”-sized bond issue typically refers to a raising of between $500 million and $1 billion. By 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, order books for the bond issue reached $1.2 billion, “a sign of strong demand for the offer,” the article adds.