Feature
In Brief: FSA publishes Handbook development newsletter
To keep the industry abreast of accelerating changes to the Handbook, the UK regulator has issued the October notice of changes.
Oil prices: Risk of a fall?
Consensus forecasts predict lower oil prices next year, although a minority of analysts, sceptical that demand will fall, expect higher 2007 prices. Beyond 2008 the supply picture could be much tighter than generally thought, some experts say. Stella…
A clearer picture
Energy bills are now prominent on most UK businesses' radar screens. Alistair Buchanan of UKregulator Ofgem offers an update on developments that could affect the UK's gas market this winter
Biomass back on track
Generating power through biomass – corn, soybeans, trees, plants and animal waste – looks set to receive a boost in the US, after stagnation during the 1990s, finds Elisa Wood
Shifting sands
High oil prices and a lack of accessibility to reserves are reawakening oil majors' interest in Canada's oil sands. David Watkins looks at their potential and at the challenges involved in this capital-intensive mining operation
Trading opinions
Energy risk professionals from all over Europe gathered in London last month at the Energy Risk Europe conference to debate the hottest topics facing the industry today. The Energy Risk team bring you some highlights
Weathering oil risk
Managing weather risk is increasingly important for petroleum companies. Murad Jivraj looks at how optimal oil risk management can be obtained through combining traditional structured products with new weather derivatives
VC funds clean up
Investment in clean energy technology is attracting new venture capital money even as the traditional investors, electric utilities, are withdrawing. In the first of a two-part series, Catherine Lacoursière investigates the latest financing trends in…
Platform for production
While a healthy flow of new oil is forecast to come on stream over the next few years, there's concern that projects will be held up by a lack of infrastructure, particularly rig availability and personnel, finds Roderick Bruce
Future imperfect
Hedging physical deals with derivatives may be active risk management, but if the physical contract is breached, it can result in unnecessary losses. Andrew Meads looks at whether the innocent party can recover these losses
Western congestion
Despite huge strides to improve power transmission efficiency in California since 2001, the region is still flagged a 'critical congestion area' by the US Department of Energy. Neil O'Hara looks at the state of play
HYBRIDS: BACK ON TRACK
The hybrid securities market has recovered from the twin setbacks of excessive volatility in the European market in the spring and a negative regulatory ruling in the US. But what have investors learnt from these hiccups? Laurence Neville reports
New dawn for India's securitisation market
India's structured finance business ground to a halt earlier this year after the introduction of the country's first securitisation guidelines. But with the changes now digested, new issuers are coming to market, says Sarfraz Thind
Unrealised potential
Greece & Turkey
The great CDS debate which corner are you in?
Credit default swaps have become the instrument of choice for scores of credit investors - both for risk management and as another way to get exposure to credit. Yet there still remains a hardcore of sophisticated clients who continue to avoid CDS out of…
Take your Pik and take your chances
The issuance of payment-in-kind, or Pik, notes has grown in popularity as a means for private equity firms to fund LBOs. But investors must be aware of the unusual risks associated with this form of financing. Jean-Paul Carbonnier reports
The LDI makeover
For all the hype surrounding liability-driven investing, few UK pension funds have actually taken the plunge and implemented the technique. The London Pension Fund Authority is one notable exception. Nick Sawyer reports
Preparing for the worst-case scenario
When unpredictable and cataclysmic events befall a business, its recovery systems must be up and ready to go, reports Duncan Wood
Treasury pledges to fight terrorist funding
FINANCIAL CRIME
Hidden dangers
Do op risk managers still care about the impact of reputational risk? Possibly not, reports Peter Madigan
Surprising success, new risks
Are HEDGE funds liable to become the next operational risk and compliance crisis? This is the question that regulators, investors and other market participants around the world are asking themselves in the wake of yet another prominent hedge fund…
US banks to miss SAR reporting deadline
FINANCIAL CRIME