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Breaking the chain
Most gas sold in continental Europe is still priced against oil products, even though the rationale for this link has waned. But some end-users have had enough. Oliver Holtaway reports
A climate of change
Proposals for an emissions trading scheme in Australia have met with widespread support from industry. However, some stakeholders are questioning what the impact will be on their business, and some believe an ETS alone may not be enough to meet…
An unfair competition
As one of the largest importers of natural gas in the European Union, Italy is a clear example of why liberalisation is harder in net importing countries. Alberto Cavaliere, professor of public economics at the University of Pavia, looks at the state of…
Birth of a new swaps market
Compliance traders in the EU emissions trading scheme will be able to import project-based CERs to meet their requirements from 2008 onwards. Andreas Arvanitakis of Point Carbon reports
Onward with offsets
Awareness of the effect of carbon emissions on climate change has driven growth in the market for voluntary carbon offsets. So who is getting involved, and why? Roderick Bruce finds out
Subprime hope
As the fallout from the troubled US subprime mortgage market continues to spread, Laurence Neville looks at what the future holds and examines some important factors that must be addressed to ensure its survival
The whole package
Whole loan trading in the UK is blossoming and healthy volumes are expected this year as a host of new entrants increase liquidity in the market. Though US subprime troubles have dented trading volumes, many expect the market to continue to grow. Hardeep…
Running dry
The UK has seen an old-style bank run like those of the nineteenth century. German lenders have struggled to prop up failing conduits. Contagion from the US has reached Europe but not in the way anyone expected. Subprime lenders, in particular, have been…
An elegant charter
Patricia Cook has taken on the role of chief business officer at Freddie Mac as the mortgage agency faces its biggest challenge for the past 15 years, and perhaps its biggest opportunity. Here she talks exclusively about Freddie's strategy in the current…
Opportunity knocks
Property derivatives are already used in the commercial mortgage market, and growth is forecast in this area. However, there's untapped potential in the huge residential mortgage market - so what will it take for lenders to see the benefits of hedging…
Mission critical
Few are the lucky ones in the current market turmoil. But good fortune and good foresight mean Freddie Mac is less vulnerable than private-label peers. The subprime mess might even present a valuable opportunity for the US mortgage agency. By Rob Mannix
A time of strife
Interest rate markets traded as if every day was a big news day during August. Mark Walker of RBS Global Banking & Markets looks back at swap movements and volatility spikes and asks what those meant for mortgage lenders
Protected from the subprime chaos
The Latin American region has suffered its fair share of financial difficulties - most of them self-inflicted - but a period of economic stability and rebuilding has left many LatAm countries well equipped to withstand the fallout from the recent…
Tim Fletcher
Insufficient data is at the root of the credit market's ruined summer, Baseline Capital's sales and marketing director tells Matthew Attwood
Q&A - Rohan Douglas
The founder and CEO of Quantifi, the structured credit modelling and risk analysis firm, talks about the effects of the summer's volatility on the structured finance market, in particular how existing models have fared against the turmoil
All fall down - What's the next move for structured credit?
Banks are still counting the cost of the summer's credit crisis yet thoughts are already turning to what shape the structured credit market may take after the recent catastrophe. Are we looking at a new market paradigm or will things be the same as…
The psychology of it all
The events of the summer have ravaged investor confidence in high yield and leveraged loans. Tim Hall at Calyon looks at the effect of the credit meltdown on three constituencies of the market: investors, issuers and underwriters
Putting a price on subprime assets
Structured credit investors nursing losses from subprime-infected assets want better valuation models for illiquid securities such as MBS. But as Stewart Eisenhart reports, such solutions will be tricky to design and costly to implement
Bad luck, bad timing and bad bets ..
Extreme levels of volatility and parched liquidity have shaken up the global hedge fund industry. Nikki Marmery reports on the winners and losers in the summer's relentless ride
The bigger picture
In 2003, rating agencies considered operational risk as a separate risk category, but quantification problems have prompted them to take an integrated, enterprise risk management approach.