Structured products
US Wrap: Mid-week freeze
With tumbling equity markets pushing the S&P index down 4%, yesterday turned out to be the right day for no issuance in the US market. Despite continued volatility, the past week has seen reverse convertibles making a comeback: the poster child of US…
SEC charges Stanford with fraud
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged R Allen Stanford with orchestrating a fraud of a "shocking magnitude" via his asset management and broker-dealer advisory companies under the Stanford Group name.
MBIA lances structured finance from municipal business
Monoline insurer MBIA has split itself into two, creating a new business focused solely on US public finance bond insurance while siphoning off its festering structured product commitments into a separate legal entity.
Pensions before dividends, UK regulator orders
The UK Pensions Regulator has warned companies they should not continue paying shareholder dividends at the expense of their pension schemes.
US Wrap: JP Morgan furthers reverse convertible comeback
JP Morgan kicked off the week by launching 12 reverse convertible notes into the US market yesterday. The former favourite structure of the space appears to be making a comeback after market volatility suppressed volumes last year, as the product…
JP Morgan launches autocallable gold-linked certificate of deposit
JP Morgan has launched a new certificate of deposit (CD) for US investors linked to the price of gold, as the precious metal's price continues to climb. The CD kicks out as soon as the gold price, taken as the daily fixing level in US dollars per troy…
CDS: European banks lead widening
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Tuesday February 17)
2008 worst year for hedge funds since records began
2008 was the worst year for hedge fund performance since data onalternative investment pools began to be tracked, with average returns of -17.08% across asset classes for the past year, a new report has revealed.
Eurex to launch commodity index futures in March
Eurex will be the first European exchange to offer trading in commodity index derivatives with the launch of four new contracts on March 30.
Deutsche Bank joins DME as clearing member
The Dubai Mercantile Exchange's membership committee has today approved Deutsche Bank as the 22nd clearing member of the exchange.
US Wrap: ABN rounds off week of reverse convertibles with final note
The flood of reverse convertibles put into the US market on Thursday slowed to a trickle by the end of the week, as ABN Amro launched one note into the space linked to the stock of General Electric. The bank was a dominant presence in the reverse…
Morgan Stanley unveils cash collateralised and gilt-backed product
Morgan Stanley has launched a three-year structured product for retail clients which is both cash collateralised and backed by triple A-rated UK gilts to mitigate counterparty risk. The issuer has developed the plan in response to feedback from UK…
CFTC acts to shut out grain futures speculators
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved new rules designed to reduce distortions in the soft commodity futures markets caused by speculative activity.
CDS: Barclays, Citi widen; other US banks remain stable
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Friday February 13)
US Wrap: ABN Amro dominates, offering 16 new reverse convertibles
ABN Amro burst into life yesterday, dominating structured products issuance in the US, launching 16 of the 19 new deals - all reverse convertibles, based on wide range of themes, including commodities, the consumer retail market, and financials. Oil and…
US Wrap: Leverage trades both ways for S&P 500 bulls
S&P remains the dominant theme, as the underlying for yesterday's seven new issues as well as all new deals launched since Tuesday. The mood is still overtly bullish on recovery, with every new launch featuring either upside or downside gearing, although…
CDS: Citi, Morgan Stanley widen by more than 5%
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Thursday February 12)
Asian airlines struggle with volatile oil prices
A major contributor to the large fuel-hedging losses suffered by Chinese and Taiwanese airlines for 2008 were collar strategies - the purchase of call options and simultaneous sale of put options. But some Asian carriers, such as Malaysia's Air Asia and…
Aviation industry calls for inclusion in Copenhagen deal
Four of the world's leading airlines have today called for carbon dioxide emissions from international aviation to be included in any new global climate change deal agreed at the UN's Copenhagen Summit in December.
Fortis offers gold protection in Turkey
Fortis Investments and its wholly owned Turkish entity Fortis Portföy have launched the Fortýs Koruma Amaçlý 1. Fonu, an onshore gold-linked capital protected fund. The trade is the fifth capital protected fund launched by Fortis in Turkey.
US Wrap: Mid-week lull favours S&P 500
Only three new products were launched into the US market yesterday, a third of the previous day's issuance. Reverse convertibles were notably absent, replaced instead with two autocallable products and an accelerated growth structure all linked to the S…
Deutsche rolls out Asia-Pacific structured fund
Deutsche Bank has launched the DB Platinum Croci Asia-Pacific Fund, a Ucits III-compliant structured fund which is designed to provide exposure to the Croci Asia-Pacific index.
Barcap’s inflation inspiration
Barclays Capital has launched the AUD Inspire Index, which is designed to provide synthetic inflation protection for Australia using a weighted combination of actively traded and liquid inflation swap indexes from the US, UK and euro area.
CDS: Citi, Goldman and Morgan Stanley tighten
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Wednesday February 11)