Foreign exchange
Merrill Lynch continues with forex hires
Merrill Lynch has continued its forex hiring spree with the hire of Rabobank’s former global forex head, Michele di Stefano.
France Telecom debt protection cost soars following downgrade
The cost of five-year credit protection on France Telecom debt widened by 100 basis points (bp) today as rating agency Moody’s cut its credit rating to one notch above 'junk'. Five-year credit default swaps were priced at 600/650bp in heavy trading.
Totem widens equity derivative valuation service
Totem Market Valuations, the London-based over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives valuation specialist, is to expand its service to include floored cliquet options this month.
Credit markets update: financial sector spreads widen in heavy trading
Credit default swap spreads for the financial sector in Europe generally widened this week in relatively heavy trading, as equity market falls and concerns over the financial sector’s overall credit strength caused nervousness among investors.
Primus Financial starts credit derivatives trading
Derivatives market veterans Thomas Jasper and Joseph Bauman said their new firm, Primus Financial Products, a triple A rated provider of credit risk protection for the credit derivatives market, has started trading.
Barep and JP Morgan close $215 million emerging market CDO
Paris-based alternative investment fund Barep Asset Management, a wholly-owned unit of French banking group Société Générale and JP Morgan Securities, has closed a $216.6 million collateralised debt obligation (CDO) backed by a revolving pool of US…
Increased regulation for OTC commodities is unnecessary, claims Isda
Increased regulation for the over-the-counter (OTC) commodity derivatives market designed to protect investors is unnecessary, according to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (Isda). The European Commission is proposing regulation of…
S&P set to change BT debt outlook to stable from negative, says BT employee
Rating agency Standard & Poor’s is set to raise British Telecom’s (BT's) A- rating from ‘negative outlook’ to ‘stable outlook’, said a senior BT employee late yesterday.
ISE elects Frank Jones as vice chairman
US electronic equity options market, the International Securities Exchange (ISE), has elected Frank Jones as vice chairman. He replaces Ivers Riley, who has been appointed chairman of the two-year-old ISE.
Credit Markets Update: bleak market sentiment and TMT woes drive spreads
European credit default swap spreads have continued to follow the equity market’s lead this week, tightening on Monday but widening again today. The volatile technology, media and telecoms sector set the tone for the wider market.
UBS Warburg hires Mallory Brooks to head cross rates group
UBS Warburg has hired Mallory Brooks as head of the cross rates group in North America and co-head of the global hedge fund group in the bank's interest rates and foreign exchange (FX) division.
Algorithmics cashes in on regulator demands
Toronto-based risk technology company Algorithmics attributed record revenues for its fiscal year 2002 to increasingly stringent banking regulator demands on financial institutions for greater implementation of risk management software.
ING names new head of financial markets in Singapore
ING Financial Markets, a unit of Dutch banking and insurance group ING Group, has named Percy Rueber as managing director and head of financial markets in Singapore.
Crédit Lyonnais builds up credit derivatives capability in Tokyo
French bank Crédit Lyonnais intends to develop its credit derivatives activity in Japan, with two new hires, one internal transfer and possibly one further hire, said Edward Willems, head of credit derivatives in Tokyo.
BrokerTec confirms takeover talks
Bond trading platform BrokerTec has confirmed widespread industry rumours that it is the subject of takeover talks. BrokerTec issued a statement on Friday stating it received approaches from several parties about "possible strategic combinations”, and…
Goldman study: S&P 500 volatility rockets in Q2
Single-stock and index volatility has shot up since the end of the first quarter of 2002, according to research by investment bank Goldman Sachs.
Credit Markets Update: European spreads drift wider due to negative sentiment
Credit default swap spreads in Europe drifted gradually wider during the week, reacting to weakness in the equity markets and general economic pessimism. Five-year debt protection spreads were 30 to 40 basis points wider on European telecoms, 3-8bp wider…
Risk 2002 USA: Deutsche’s Kühborth says op risk is about managing people
Deutsche Bank managing director for operational risk, Gerd Kühborth, told delegates at Risk magazine’s Risk 2002 USA conference late yesterday that effective operational risk boiled down to sound people management.
NAB offers soft commodity hedging in Australia
National Australia Bank (NAB) has launched a range of soft commodity hedging products to cater for the country's large agricultural sector.
JP Morgan scoops Credit magazine's credit derivatives strategy research award
JP Morgan Chase has taken the top ranking in Credit magazine's credit derivatives strategy research survey, receiving almost twice as many nominations as the second ranked bank, Morgan Stanley. Credit is a sister publication to RiskNews .
Risk 2002 USA: Convertible arb funds could face liquidity risk concerns, says Soros Fund risk head
The rash of new convertible arbitrage funds in the market has created concerns about liquidity risk problems, according to Peruvemba Satish, director of risk management and reporting at Soros Fund Management in New York.
BMA and IIF issue new proposals to protect sovereign debt investors
The heads of six major financial bodies, including the Bond Market Association (BMA) and the Institute of International Finance (IIF), have issued a list of principles to enhance creditor protection in cases of sovereign debt restructuring.
Credit Markets Update: Williams hit due to energy investigation
Continued federal enquiries and a credit downgrade for US energy trader and gas pipeline operator Williams caused five-year debt protection spreads on the company to widen a further 30 basis points this week, after its spreads swelled 200bp last week and…
JP Morgan sees mixed results in Risk ’s 2002 end-user derivatives rankings
JP Morgan Chase, the world’s largest derivatives house, managed only a fourth-place position in the non-financial companies section of Risk ’s 2002 end-user derivatives rankings. But the US financial group dominated the asset management rankings, with a…