Infrastructure
Isda AGM: Derivatives post-trade processing improves
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (Isda) says post-trade processing has continued to improve over the past year, with lower numbers of confirmations outstanding and higher levels of automation.
Isda AGM: trillions in derivatives torn up since June
Multilateral tear-up efforts continue to bear fruit, with notional outstanding reduced by several trillion dollars, according to a report released by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association at its annual general meeting in Beijing.
Thomson Reuters upgrades multi-asset class transaction service
Global information company Thomson Reuters has upgraded its multi-asset class transaction service Reuters Trading for Exchanges (RTEx).
TriOptima targets swaps tear-up for mainland China and Taiwan
Swedish post-trade services group TriOptima plans to launch renminbi and new Taiwan dollar interest rate swaps (IRS) termination services in the second half of this year. The company currently offers its services across 19 currencies, including seven…
SG CIB tries to fix variance swap flaws
In the wake of hefty losses for sellers of variance swaps as volatility spiked last year, Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking (SG CIB) is touting products that might make selling variance more palatable for investors.
Ice clears $71 billion of CDSs
Atlanta-based derivatives exchange IntercontinentalExchange (Ice) has cleared $71 billion notional in credit default swaps (CDS) in the four weeks since the launch of its central clearing platform. The exchange cleared 613 transactions and reported open…
The great bond buyback
The Bank of England has kicked off its repurchase scheme for sterling high grade bonds, but opinion is divided over whether the subsequent tightening of spreads is down to the government initiative or extraneous factors. Laurence Neville reports
Volatility puts credit investors on the defensive
Investors are gravitating towards safe haven sectors such as utilities and telecoms as credit fundamentals on non-cyclicals continue to deteriorate
Sting in the tail
Credit spreads on highly rated names have blown out to levels that are proving irresistible to many buy-and-hold investors such as pension funds. But tail risk in the form of increased default expectations is still a major consideration. Blake Evans…
On the crest of a wave
Corporate bond volumes have been soaring as companies scramble to meet their funding requirements in the wake of the loan market's demise. Simon Boughey looks at whether this wave of issuance is a temporary phenomenon or whether it heralds a permanent…
Ukraine heads list of riskiest sovereign issuers
Central Asian and South American countries dominate the league table of sovereign issuers with the highest risk debt, while northern European nations - plus the US - are among the safest
Max Bublitz: The great race ... to the bottom
Predicting how long the downturn will last is a fool's game. Past cycles are no useful indicator because we are undergoing a more tectonic shift in the global economic landscape
Robert Stheeman
The head of the UK's Debt Management Office, the body responsible for administering the wave of recent government issuance, tells Sarfraz Thind that the recent failed auction doesn't spell a death of demand for gilts
The price is right
Consensus on the input assumptions that financial institutions use to value structured finance securities is crucial if the market is to reach a universally agreed method of pricing these impaired assets. By Peter Jones of Standard & Poor's
Stopping the rot
Noises from leading banks that they may be returning to profitability are failing to mask the painful truth that vast quantities of toxic assets are still causing a stink on banks' balance sheets. Credit looks at the various plans being put forward to…
FDIC extension gives breathing space to banks
The difficulties banks are facing in borrowing capital are ample justification for extending the TLGP scheme, say observers. Indeed, there are calls for the scheme to become more permanent
Tear-ups reduce $5.5 trillion of outstanding CDSs, TriOptima says
Swedish technology firm TriOptima has eliminated outstanding credit default swap (CDS) trades worth $5.5 trillion so far this year through its triReduce service, the company said today.
Aluminium canned
Aluminium prices hit a seven-year low in March. Is there any bullish news for the market? Roderick Bruce finds out
CDS 'big bang' could see 18% increase in tear-ups, Markit says
Changes to credit default swap (CDS) contracts due to come into force on April 7 could result in an upturn in trade-compression activity, according to market information provider Markit.
Fed in $287bn currency swap with central banks
Four central banks, including the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE), have agreed further reciprocal foreign currency swap arrangements with the Federal Reserve to provide more US dollar funds to firms in participating nations as…