News/Foreign exchange
Credit Markets Update: Negative equity sentiment transmutes into wider spreads
European credit default swap spreads were wider this week, with investors buying protection as credit concerns and accounting scandals in the US contributed to negative investor sentiment that led to a further battering of stocks.
Japan Credit Market Update: Increased protection buying send spreads wider
Japanese credit default swap spreads were wider this week, with investors buying protection on the back of new convertible bond issuance, more credit concerns and the possibility that accounting scandals seen in the US may spread to Japanese companies.
Credit quality improved but spreads widen in Q2, says S&P
Rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) said global credit quality continued to improve in the second quarter of 2002. The global downgrade-to-upgrade ratio, which was 7:0 in the final quarter of 2001 was 5:3 in the first quarter of 2002 and 3:1 for the…
Implied volatility surge sees the return of institutional hedging
Short-term implied option volatility has shot up during the past month due to falling equity markets, which has led to increased institutional hedging, according to a report published this week by Goldman Sachs.
European Union Basel II/Cad 3 timetable remains tight
The European Commission’s plans to apply risk-based protective capital rules to banks in the European Union (EU) remain on a tight schedule following yesterday’s progress statement on the Basel II bank Accord by global banking regulators, a Commission…
UK bankers fear capital floors higher under latest Basel II plans
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) is concerned that global banking regulators appear to have raised and expanded the application of the capital charges floor in the Basel II bank Accord, a BBA official said today.
European Union Basel II/Cad 3 timetable remains tight
The European Commission’s plans to apply risk-based protective capital rules to banks in the European Union (EU) remain on a tight schedule following yesterday’s progress statement on the Basel II bank Accord by global banking regulators, a Commission…
DrKW sets up prime brokerage service
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) has launched a prime brokerage business, offering financing and support services to hedge funds and alternative investment funds.
UK bankers fear capital floors higher under latest Basel II plans
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) is concerned that global banking regulators appear to have raised and expanded the application of the capital charges floor in the Basel II bank Accord, a BBA official said today.
JP Morgan names most vulnerable European corporates
US investment bank JP Morgan Chase named ABB, Alcatel, Alstom, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Fiat, France Telecom, ICI, Invensys, Repsol-YPF, Rhodia, Vivendi Universal as the most exposed credits post-WorldCom in its latest credit research report.
US institutions take greater risks in convertible arbitrage
US institutions that invest in convertible securities, such as convertible arbitrage hedge funds, take more risks than their European counterparts, according to a research report published by US-based financial consultancy Greenwich Associates.
Bank of America traders launch forex hedge fund
Three senior forex traders from Bank of America (BoA) in New York last week launched Scalene Partners, a new intra-day forex hedge fund.
Mixed results for sales of SG's 'gemstones'
SG, the investment banking arm of French bank Société Générale, is seeing mixed results this year from its sale of equity-linked structured products to the European retail market.
Credit Markets Update: France Telecom fluctuates in thin markets
The cost of credit protection on troubled telco France Telecom fluctuated this week within a 100 basis point range, causing knock-on effects on the spreads of other European telecoms in jittery markets that saw little trading activity. But positive…
Confident regulators expect to issue upbeat Basel II statement next week
Global banking regulators are expected next week to make an upbeat statement on progress with the controversial Basel II bank Accord. This follows several months of uncertainty in which some bankers doubted the Accord would ever see the light of day.
Credit card capital charges will be lower under Basel II
Major banks will probably have to set aside a lot less capital as a cushion against losses from defaulting credit-card holders under the Basel II bank Accord than they do now, global banking supervisors said.
Australian structured finance market to pick up in H2, says Moody's
International rating agency Moody's believes the Australian structured finance market will pick up in the second half of the year following a drop in such deals during the first six months of this year.
French reinsurer Scor to return to credit derivatives market next year
French reinsurer Scor Group will come back to the credit derivatives market to offer protection by early next year, said the company’s chairman Jacques Blondeau.
Eurostat ruling likely to slow government securitisations
New rules issued on government securitisations late yesterday by Eurostat, the statistical body of the European Commission, could slow the sovereign securitisation market, according to industry participants. The rules, which cement the accounting…
CFTC approves use of single-stock futures
A significant barrier to the trading of single-stock futures (SSFs) in the US was removed late yesterday when US regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved final rules for the use of the instruments.
Germany drops objections to Basel II after SME solution
Germany lifted its objections today to the Basel II bank Accord, welcoming a compromise on lending to small businesses that will be discussed next week by global banking regulators.
Credit Markets Update: Vivendi protection costs surge
The cost of credit protection on French media company Vivendi Universal’s debt ballooned 500 basis points yesterday, with five-year bids hitting 1,200bp following downgrades from rating agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s and the resignation of chief…
Merrill Lynch creates non-Japan Asia derivatives role
Merrill Lynch is creating a new position for its non-Japan Asia local currency foreign exchange and interest rate derivatives business to cater for client demand, a senior official said.
ING Financial Markets to use Credient for credit portfolio management
The Netherlands-based ING Group has selected SunGard Trading and Risk Systems' Credient application to support its credit portfolio management business.