Regulation/Foreign exchange
EDF slammed by Tartam tariff pricing
The French government's implementation of regulated energy prices has hammered its state-owned champion's 2008 results and undermined market liberalisation. Roderick Bruce reports
Bernanke calls for regulatory overhaul of financial system
An overhaul of how the government regulates the financial system is required to prevent future economic crises, said US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke in a speech delivered before the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington today.
Japanese CDO market shrinks in 2008, says Moody's
The collateralised debt obligation (CDO) market in Japan last year contracted by 12% to about ¥1 trillion ($10.2 billion) in terms of deals rated by Moody's Investors Service.
Sassoon report suggests folding FSA into the Bank of England
Daily news headlines
Ice launches US CDS clearing service
Atlanta-based derivatives exchange IntercontinentalExchange (Ice) launched its credit default swap (CDS) central clearing platform on March 9 after receiving the green light from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 6.
US Wrap: Equity bulls come out in force with growth structures
Accelerated growth products were the only structures to be launched in the US market yesterday, linking to both international and domestic equity. International exposure was provided by two products linked to the iShares MSCI Eafe Index fund. It was…
Brokerage launches environmental arm
Phoenix Partners Group, an interdealer credit and equity derivatives broker, has launched an environmental brokerage service for the worldwide renewable energy and emissions markets.
Bank of England reveals £75 billion asset purchase programme
The Bank of England plans to buy up £75 billion of assets over the next three months, including medium-term government bonds (gilts) in the secondary markets and commercial paper from the private sector.
IASB amends fair-value disclosure
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has amended disclosure requirements for the fair-value measurement of financial instruments, further aligning International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) with US Generally Accepted Accounting…
Iosco aims to boost oversight on commodity futures
Today, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (Iosco) published guidelines for improving the transparency and supervision of commodity futures markets.
Basel Committee to look at Tier 1 capital quality
Daily news headlines
Basel Committee to look at Tier 1 capital quality
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is preparing radical changes to its rules on capital quality, including a 'soft target' of 75% for equity capital - up from 50% today - and the possible abolition of two-tier capital, according to a senior…
Fed approval leaves Ice/TCC on brink of CDS clearing
Intercontinental Exchange's (Ice) application to become a member of the Federal Reserve System has been approved by the US central bank, overcoming one of the final obstacles preventing the firm from launching its central clearing platform for credit…
Islamic exchange traded gold tracker launched in Dubai
Dubai Gold Securities, a limited liability partnership formed in January 2009 between the Dubai Multi Commodity Centre Authority and Dubai Commodity Asset Management, has launched the sharia-compliant gold security, an exchange traded commodity security…
US Wrap: Reverse convertibles hold sway as underlying scope widens
Reverse convertibles dominated US issuance on Friday, as did Barclays Bank, which issued 13 of the notes. Alongside the usual smattering of energy companies, two gold producers were included - a different perspective from investing in the precious metal…
Yen weakens as carry trades unwind, yen and equities decorrelate
The unwinding of yen carry trades and the de-correlation of the yen with equity markets, as well as wider economic factors, have all been linked to the yen's decline over the past month.
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Credit ratings
ASF 2009 highlights challenges for securitisation market
The annual conference for securitisation professionals, held in Las Vegas, showed that the industry is under no illusions about the difficulties it is currently going through, but that there is a collective will to turn the situation round. Mark Kahn of…
Crunch time for autos
The world's carmakers are battling for survival. Should bondholders shun the sector or is there value in the firms best placed to beat the recession? Nikki Marmery reports
ASF 2009 highlights challenges for securitisation market
The annual conference for securitisation professionals, held in Las Vegas, showed that the industry is under no illusions about the difficulties it is currently going through, but that there is a collective will to turn the situation round. Mark Kahn of…