Structured products
Swiss Re seeks capital injection after securitisation hit
Zurich-based reinsurer Swiss Re suffered writedowns of SFr 6 billion ($5.1 billion) linked to its legacy securitisation portfolio, according to its preliminary report for 2008.
Deutsche hit by €1.7 billion equity derivatives losses in Q4
Deutsche Bank confirmed a net loss of €4.8 billion for the fourth quarter of 2008, bringing total losses for the year to €3.9 billion, compared with a net income of €6.5 billion in 2007. Year-on-year net revenues for the quarter fell from €7.3 billion in…
Van Eck casts pre-refunded municipal bond ETF into US market
Van Eck Global, a New York-based asset manager, has released its Market Vectors Pre-Refunded Municipal Index exchange-traded fund (ETF) on NYSE Arca. The ETF is designed to replicate the performance of the Barclays Capital Municipal Pre-Refunded-Treasury…
SGAM AI launches leveraged reverse ETF in Italy
Société Générale Asset Management Alternative Investments (SGAM AI) has released an exchange-traded fund (ETF) with up to 200% leveraged, reverse exposure to the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 index, enhanced by a monetary return. The SGAM ETF XBear Dow Jones…
US Wrap: Reverse convertibles come bouncing back
Sixteen new issues were launched into the US market yesterday, doubling Monday's issuance. Barclays Bank offering 8 convertible notes on a smattering of underlyings including the US Oil Fund, Goldman Sachs stock, the equity of electronics retail chain…
CDS: Citi continues to widen
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Tuesday February 3)
Barclays unveils note as investors believe FTSE will rise
Barclays Stockbrokers has launched its FTSE 100 Defined Returns Investment Note, for investors seeking to benefit from a rise in the FTSE over a five year term. Around half of investors (48%) think the FTSE will start to recover in the next six months,…
Clearing CDS for lift-off
A new single-name North American credit default swap (CDS) contract, due to be launched next month, is expected to bring greater standardisation to the market and pave the way for central clearing.
SEC incompetence and secrecy over Madoff enrages Congress
The fraud examiner who spent eight years warning about Bernard Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme has blamed institutional incompetence within the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
DGCX plastics contracts launch postponed
The launch of two new plastics futures contracts at the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) has been delayed.
Federal Reserve extends liquidity programmes
The Federal Reserve has extended the deadline for its existing liquidity programmes by six months, to October 30, in a sign of continuing strain on financial markets.
Obama ties executive pay caps to bail-out funds
President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled a compensation cap of $500,000 for top executives at firms receiving "exceptional assistance" from the US government.
Bossuyt, head of Islamic finance and structuring at Deutsche Bank departs
Geert Bossuyt, Deutsche Bank's head of Islamic finance and head of structuring for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has left the bank, along with Ricardo Honegger, head of global markets, MENA (Middle East & North Africa). Honegger will retire…
Increase in institutional users of US-listed ETFs amid market turmoil
In the first nine months of 2008, 2,457 institutional investors across the world used one or more exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed in the US, according to Barclays Global Investors' ETF Landscape Review. The US, UK, Canada, Spain and Switzerland have…
US Wrap: Blizzard of secondary credit bolsters issuance
Counterparty risk is still high on the agenda within the US market, with half of new launches were underwritten by credit separate from the issuing institution. Barclays Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Citi all used either Eksportfinans or Swedish Export Credit…
Deutsche presents Ucits III 130/30 fund
Deutsche Bank has launched the DB Platinum IV Croci Global 130/30 fund, a Ucits III compliant fund which is designed to provide exposure to long and short equity positions on stocks from Europe, Japan and the US. The bank has raised €90 million in assets…
CDS: BoA, Barclays and Citi widen
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Monday February 2)
Cater Allen offers FTSE play
Cater Allen Private Banking has launched its Protected Investment Plan 1, which is designed to pay a fixed return on half the investment and offer exposure to the FTSE 100 on the other half.
Auction sets settlement values for LyondellBasell companies
An auction run by data vendor Markit and broker Creditex determined final settlement values for credit derivatives trades referencing three US-based subsidiaries of Netherlands-based chemical company LyondellBasell, today.
Barclays launches volatility ETNS after 2008 spikes
Barclays has launched two new volatility-linked exchange-traded notes (ETNs). The notes will track two indexes from the S&P 500 Vix Futures indexes series, which was launched a week ago and aims to replicate a long position in publicly traded Vix futures…
SG adds more to London-listed covered warrant and turbo selection
Société Générale listed 32 new covered warrants and 30 new turbos on the London Stock Exchange in January, a programme that included covered warrants on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks the overall performance of Chinese mainland…
CDS: Levels drift a little wider at last week's close
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Friday January 30)
US Wrap: Spectrum of risk profiles offered on S&P 500
Six new issues were launched into the US market before the weekend by four issuers. The S&P 500 continues to dominate issuance, with four of the products offering exposure to the index.
DME oil benchmarks migrate to CME platform
Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) have completed the migration of three DME crude oil benchmark products onto the CME Globex platform.