Foreign exchange
No More Fake IDs
As the economy recovers, financial firms are looking for technical advantages that increase top-line revenues as well as manage costs.
Hedge funds using more leverage, says Greenwich
Almost one third of 36 hedge funds surveyed by research company Greenwich Associates increased their use of leverage in the past year.
EU emissions trading to see moderate start, says survey
Companies expect emissions trading to experience a “moderate start” in the European Union (EU), before seeing a steady increase in volumes. This was the conclusion of a recent survey carried out by the Leipzig-based European Energy Exchange (EEX) and 3C,…
FEA unveils updated power exposure solution
Financial Engineering Associates (FEA), the Berkeley-based subsidiary of technology company Barra, today unveiled its @Energy/Power Generation 2.0 solution for power plant optimisation, risk exposure assessment and valuation
Consistency issues must be resolved before Basel II implementation, says Bies
Major US banks have consistency problems that must be resolved before the implementation of Basel II, according to Susan Schmidt Bies, governor of the Federal Reserve Board and chair of the Banking Regulatory and Supervisory Committee.
Sarbanes-Oxley: The costly road to compliance
Some companies are looking to get a better return on their investment in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance by making it part of a larger exercise that looks at firm-wide processes and controls, and not just those surrounding financial reporting, writes Clive…
GL Trade sets up gateway to EEX and signs up Calyon Financial
GL Trade, a Paris-based provider of financial data, clearing, trading and settlement soulutions, has set up a gateway to the Leipzig-based European Energy Exchange. Global derivatives broker Calyon Financial, formerly Carr Futures, has taken up this…
Nymex to clear contracts on OTC oil and gas options
The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) and broker Icap are set to launch an electronic market in options on oil and gas inventory statistics. The over-the-counter options will be offered through an auction process and cleared by Nymex.
Axa launches credit-equity volatility arbitrage fund
Axa Investment Managers has launched the second generation of its credit-equity volatility arbitrage fund, called Axa Kappa.
EU finalising its proposal for Basel II framework, says EU official
The European Union is in the final stages of completing its proposal for the new European framework for Basel II, Alexander Schaub, director general of the EU internal market directorate has said
AIB rapped for overcharging for forex deals
Allied Irish Banks (AIB) sailed into another forex controversy last week, as it emerged the bank has been overcharging for forex deals for the past eight years, reports RiskNews' sister publication, FX Week .
Notional outstanding OTC contracts near $200 trillion
The total estimated notional amount of outstanding over-the-counter derivatives contracts stood at $197.1 trillion at the end of December, according to data released today by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
US agencies seek feedback on structured finance guidelines
Five US federal agencies have issued a statement describing internal controls and risk management procedures designed to help financial institutions identify and address risks associated with complex structured finance activities.
IIF comments on recent Basel announcement
The Institute of International Finance (IIF), a global association of financial institutions, issued a statement yesterday welcoming the proposals that the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published the day before, but also noted that more work…
Providus launches RiskResolve 3.5 to boost internal controls
Nashua, NH – Providus, a risk management and regulatory compliance services provider based in New Hampshire, has launched RiskResolve 3.5 – an operational risk management (ORM) solution that enables real-time detection and correction of risks and control…
Coulter considers risk concentration
In a wide-ranging speech at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association annual meeting in Chicago at the end of March, the vice-chairman of JP Morgan Chase, David Coulter, considered why there were continuing questions raised over the role of…
Covenants: crisis of confidence
Financial covenants that rely too heavily on ratios are just not sophisticated enough to predict the likelihood of default, argues Sarah Woo . Loan originators must learn a trick or two from their colleagues in portfolio management and develop…
The Enron effect
Lawsuits filed by investors in Enron against two of the fallen energy giant’s arranging banks, Citigroup and JPMorgan, have called into question the very structure of investment banking in the US, as John Hintze discovers
Moody’s KMV boosts analytics
Moody’s KMV, the San Francisco-based quantitative credit analytics firm and subsidiary of rating agency Moody's, has launched a new web-based tool to value credit spreads and analyse the drivers behind credit spread movements. It has also revamped its…
Tullett plans new data launch
Tullett Financial, the data sales arm of broking group Collins Stewart Tullett (CST), is readying the launch of a new currency data product for June.
Latest data may set the tone for a firmer dollar
Stronger-than-expected economic data from the United States last Friday may set the tone for a firmer US dollar this week, and might put an end to the nervousness that has kept some clients out of the market in past few days.
Fed proposes tighter regulation on trust-preferred securities
The US Federal Reserve has proposed a rule to retain trust-preferred securities (TPS) in the tier-one capital of bank holding companies (BHC), but with stricter quantitative limits and clearer qualitative standards.
Reliably informed
Pat Wood, chairman of US interstate energy regulator the Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission, talks to James Ockenden about reliability, regulation, and wherenext for the competitive market in the US
Thomas Brooks
Thomas Brooks, president of Constellation Power Source, outlines his contributionto the Constellation Group’s success. By Joe Marsh