Foreign exchange
Derivatives not to blame for Enron failure, says Greenspan
Alan Greenspan, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, yesterday defended the role of derivatives in financial markets during a testimony to Congress. "The record of [derivatives] performance, especially over the past couple of stressful years, suggests…
Defaults hit new record levels, says Moody’s
International rating agency Moody’s said that credit losses due to defaults reached record levels in 2001, as loss rates on speculative-grade defaulted bonds surged and recovery rates on the defaulted bonds plummeted for the third straight year.
MMC Enterprise Risk sets up weather desk for corporates
Marsh & McLennan (MMC) Enterprise Risk, a sister company of New York-based insurance broker Marsh, is in the process of establishing a weather derivatives desk aimed at enticing corporate end-users into hedging against revenue-threatening weather…
AIB currency losses bring forex training into spotlight
Many banks are putting more emphasis on training foreign exchange dealers to minimise risk following Allied Irish Banks' loss of $691 million, stemming from an alleged currency fraud at subsidiary Allfirst in Baltimore.
GFInet to unleash derivatives market data feed
New York-based interdealer broker GFInet plans to offer market data feeds for the first time, and is in the process of selecting a feed vendor.
We have lift-off
The Contracts for Difference market is enjoying explosive growth at the moment, says Cate Rocchi
Little change expected for yen in run-up to fiscal year-end
Japan's former vice-minister of finance for international affairs, Eisuke Sakakibara, aka 'Mr Yen', has suggested the yen should ‘ideally’ depreciate to the 160-180 range against the dollar, further fuelling speculation that the yen could decline sharply…
Deutsche goes extra mile to underwrite Pimco CDO
Deutsche Bank has agreed to allow Pacific Investment Management Company (Pimco) full and unfettered access to its proprietary portfolio of corporate loans to secure the underwriting mandate for Pimco’s forthcoming Euro-denominated CDO.
Germany’s hedge fund stance raises concerns
Germany's fourth Financial Market Promotion Act, which was drafted in January and is set to become law in June or July, contains a clause banning short selling during periods of extreme market volatility. This clause is worrying German hedge fund…
PRMIA unveils 'blue ribbon panel' to ensure integrity
The Professional Risk Manager's International Association (PRMIA), formed in January by former members of the Global Association of Risk Professionals, has created an advisory 'Blue Ribbon Panel' to ensure the integrity of the new association and advise…
CDOs of asset-backed securities prove their worth, says Moody's
Collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) of asset-backed securities (ABS) and other repackaged securities,have suffered minimal credit deterioration in response to the general macroeconomic decline, according to credit rating agency Moody's.
Bank of England governor casts doubt on rates rise
The governor of the Bank of England, Edward George, yesterday claimed the Libor interest rate futures curve was overplaying the chances of a future UK rates rise.
EFTs, e-minis defy low equity derivatives flows
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and e-mini contracts defied January's trend of unusually low derivatives volumes and volatility, according to Joanne Hill, managing director and head of trading research at Goldman Sachs.
India relaxes rules on exchange-traded derivatives
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has ended many of its restrictions on foreign institutional investors, granting them permission to trade all exchange-traded derivatives products.
New regulation proposed for OTC energy derivatives
A bill was introduced in the US Senate yesterday that seeks to expand regulatory oversight of the over-the-counter energy commodity derivatives market. Bill sponsor Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, wants the Commodity Futures Trading…
Hedge fund moves into market-making
Algometrics, a London-based hedge fund, is looking to raise around $500 million to become a liquidity provider in cash and derivatives equity markets.
Merrill takes on more risk, sets up equity prop-trading unit
Merrill Lynch appears determined to take more risk on its own books as part of an effort to boost profits. The firm’s latest move is to set up an equity prop-trading unit to trade equity-linked products. The development follows a decision last year to…
Basel II final paper delayed until 2003
Global banking regulators now expect to issue their final version of the complex and controversial Basel II bank capital adequacy accord “some time next year” rather than by the end of this year as previously hoped.
UK to set up 'information clearing house' for disaster recovery
The Bank of England plans to launch a prototype ‘information clearing house’ on disaster recovery for financial firms in the near future, a senior official of the UK’s central bank said.
Warburg reshuffles derivatives team and launches UBSWenergy.com
UBS Warburg has named Jonkee Hong as its new head of global emerging market derivatives. Hong, now based in Connecticut after leaving his post as head of Asian derivatives, reports to Raphael Gys, global head of fixed-income derivatives marketing and…
Isda publishes FpML 3.0 specs
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has released the working draft of FpML 3.0, which aims to increase the coverage of the standardised, electronic language to cover foreign exchange over-the-counter contracts such as forex forwards and…
Merrill Lynch continues FX drive with key hires
Merrill Lynch has made three key FX hires in New York and Tokyo, combating rumours that a recent exodus of dealers had left the bank’s foreign exchange business understaffed.
TFS-Icap completes Volbroker integration
Interbank broker TFS-Icap has completed the integration of online options broking platform Volbroker, following its December 1 acquisition of a stake in the bank-owned consortium.
Zipspeed launches daily mark-to-market weather index
Atlanta-based weather risk management company, Zipspeed, is set to launch a new weather index that it hopes will draw financial companies into the US weather risk market on a greater scale.