Structured products
E*Trade’s CEO departs as Citadel injects $2.5bn into the firm
E*Trade’s chief executive, Mitchell Caplan, is the latest high-profile casualty of the US subprime crisis. Jarrett Lilien, the financial services firm’s president, has been named acting chief executive.
S&P to launch three CDS indexes
Standard & Poor’s will launch three US-based credit default swap (CDS) indexes in the first quarter of 2008.
Automated trading to compose 90% of futures by 2010
Pit trading is fading fast. An estimated 50% of all futures markets transactions in 2007 occurred through automated trading strategies – including market-making and quantitative black-box trading activities - and this proportion will rise to 90% by 2010,…
Rogue lenders shamed by TCF crackdown
Daily news headlines
RaboJet 6 offers Singapore investors one-year access to Hong Kong listed shares
Rabobank has launched the sixth version of its Rabojet certificate for retail investors in Singapore. The product is linked to the performance of three large cap Chinese shares and offers a maximum rate of 20% return after a year.
Nasdaq launches internet index
Nasdaq Stock Market has launched the Nasdaq Internet Index, a benchmark index which is designed to track the performance of companies engaged in a broad range of internet-related services.
$3 billion of CPDOs at risk of unwinding
Barclays Capital estimates $3 billion of constant proportion debt obligations (CPDOs) are at imminent risk of being unwound.
CDO shakeout puts spotlight on managers
Unsettled structured credit markets are causing investors to become more scrupulous in their collateralised debt obligation (CDO) manager choices, according to market participants.
Porsche's derivatives success a mystery
Use of derivatives by German car manufacturer Porsche has resulted in a hike in the firms’ pre-tax earnings, from €2.11 billion last year to €5.86 billion for the year 2006/2007.
ETF Securities offers more access to commodity futures
ETF Securities (ETFS) has launched four more exchange traded commodities (ETCs) on the London Stock Exchange which will give investors exposure to commodity futures prices. The commodities will track the Dow Jones-AIG three-month forward indexes for…
KfW exposure to IKB losses rises to €4.8 billion
German bank KfW has increased its risk provision for the troubled bank IKB, in which it holds a majority stake, after default risk on IKB's Rhineland conduit rose significantly.
Deutsche indexes capture currency correlation in Asia
Deutsche Bank has launched a set of indexes designed to capture returns generated by what appears to be growing coordination of currency policy among Asian central banks.
DIB launches sharia product
The wealth management division of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has launched a three-year, sharia-compliant, 50/50 Upside Note which provides exposure to the global equity market.
GGOF launches fund-linked deposit notes
Fund manager and Bank of Montreal subsidiary Guardian Group of Funds (GGOF) has launched three principal protected deposit notes linked to the performance of the GGOF Dividend Growth Fund.
Natixis reports €407 million in crisis damage
Paris-based investment bank Natixis lost €407 million in the third quarter of the year, according to results released yesterday.
Lawsuits add to ACA Capital's downgrade misery
Embattled financial insurer ACA Capital has been dealt a further blow by the announcement that two class action lawsuits are being brought against the company on behalf of shareholders who have seen the value of their investment plummet.
HSBC plans $45 billion SIV restructuring
HSBC is to bail out two of its structured investment vehicles (SIVs), Cullinan and Asscher, blaming "the inability of most SIVs to fully roll over their senior funding in the form of commercial paper or medium-term notes" and "a continued decline in the…
PensionsFirst aims to trade pension fund longevity risk
A new London-based firm, PensionsFirst, has announced it is trying to create bonds and derivatives to address the longevity and market volatility risks of UK defined benefit pension schemes.
Covered bond market reopens cautiously
Market making in the European interbank covered bond market reopened this afternoon, after being closed since last week, but with new conditions imposed by its governing body, the European Covered Bond Council (ECBC).
UBS's Tyger CPDO notes hit cash-out point
UBS's Tyger has become the first constant-proportion debt obligation (CPDO) to hit its cash-out trigger, resulting in 90% losses for investors in one tranche of the CPDO's debt.