Structured products
Islamic exchange traded gold tracker launched in Dubai
Dubai Gold Securities, a limited liability partnership formed in January 2009 between the Dubai Multi Commodity Centre Authority and Dubai Commodity Asset Management, has launched the sharia-compliant gold security, an exchange traded commodity security…
CDS: No let up for US banks as widening continues
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Tuesday March 3)
Casam lists 11 new ETFs as issuance accelerates
Credit Agricole Structured Asset Management (Casam) has listed 11 new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) covering different sectors in Europe, Eastern Europe, broad European equity exposure and two Asian markets.
Hang Seng profits fall after WaMu debt writeoffs
Hang Seng Bank, the 60% owned Hong Kong subsidiary of HSBC, saw profits slide after heavy bad debt costs in 2008, including the write-off of all its Washington Mutual bonds.
SG offers yen warrants to UK retail investors
Société Générale has listed 10 new FX-linked covered warrants on the London Stock Exchange. The warrants fluctuate in value according to the exchange rate between either the Japanese yen against sterling, or against the US dollar.
CDS: Bank of America widens by more than 5%, other US banks stable
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Friday February 27)
CDS: US banks gap out, led by Citi
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Monday March 2)
CBA offers exposure to Australian equities
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has launched its Capital Series Australia II product, which is designed to provide exposure to listed Australian shares.
US Wrap: Reverse convertibles hold sway as underlying scope widens
Reverse convertibles dominated US issuance on Friday, as did Barclays Bank, which issued 13 of the notes. Alongside the usual smattering of energy companies, two gold producers were included - a different perspective from investing in the precious metal…
Barcap offers new accounts for offshore bond series
Barclays Capital has launched two new structured deposit accounts for its offshore bond series: the three-year guaranteed digital and the five-year guaranteed FTSE 100 deposit accounts. The accounts are designed exclusively for use within offshore bonds…
Yen weakens as carry trades unwind, yen and equities decorrelate
The unwinding of yen carry trades and the de-correlation of the yen with equity markets, as well as wider economic factors, have all been linked to the yen's decline over the past month.
US to restructure AIG bailout after $61.7 billion Q4 loss
Marking the largest corporate quarterly loss in US history, today AIG reported that it lost $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008. It blamed disruption in the credit markets, particularly within its commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)…
Seismic changes hit fund derivatives
Participants in the European structured products industry face an unprecedented challenge in managing counterparty risk. One of the beneficiaries of the crisis of confidence will be the structured funds industry. At the same time liquidity shortages and…
Editor's letter
Editorial
A return to structured products?
Structured products have been largely shunned since the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September, but low returns in other asset classes may prompt institutional investors to return to the sector in the year ahead. By Peter Madigan
Rainy day funds
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have continued to gain traction in South Africa despite agitated markets. As a result, local ETF providers are extending their reach to new investors and asset classes - with some even looking to introduce exchange-traded…
Just another tool in the box
Credit ratings
ASF 2009 highlights challenges for securitisation market
The annual conference for securitisation professionals, held in Las Vegas, showed that the industry is under no illusions about the difficulties it is currently going through, but that there is a collective will to turn the situation round. Mark Kahn of…
Crunch time for autos
The world's carmakers are battling for survival. Should bondholders shun the sector or is there value in the firms best placed to beat the recession? Nikki Marmery reports
ASF 2009 highlights challenges for securitisation market
The annual conference for securitisation professionals, held in Las Vegas, showed that the industry is under no illusions about the difficulties it is currently going through, but that there is a collective will to turn the situation round. Mark Kahn of…