Structured products
S&P warns banks against reducing capital too soon in anticipation of Basel II
Standard and Poor's will review, and possibly downgrade, issuers that will be found to have reduced their capital levels in anticipation of the effect of the new Basel Accord, also known as Basel II, according to Paris-based Scott Bugie, the rating firm…
Man Investments takes compliance lead
Man Investments (Man), Europe's largest hedge fund group, with approximately £40 billion in assets under management, has implemented StarCompliance's 'code of ethics' software to automate its compliance procedures across its 15 global sites.
SG takes role in Chinese capital-guaranteed fund
Chinese fund management firm Harvest has launched the country’s fourth capital-guaranteed fund in conjunction with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and SG, part of French bank Société Générale. The fund, launched last week, is the first to involve a…
Accounting standards: Causing waves
The scheduled adoption of IAS 39 may not be causing the same waves in Asia as it is in Europe, but corporate treasurers in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore are eyeing the 1 January deadline with increasing nervousness.
Unlocking the rating process
The credit rating agencies are often criticized for a lack of transparency in their rating methodology. But as John Caserta reports, the agencies are taking steps to shed light on this often mysterious process and, in doing so, rebuild investor…
End of the gold rush
Commodities
Energising the US
Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has plans to require the US to generate20% of its electricity from renewable sources. But just how different are Kerry’sand President Bush’s stances on energy policy? By Paul Lyon
Avoiding the gas work
Ferc is exploring whether gas storage inventory details should be posted on adaily basis. How will this affect the development of the embryonic natural gasstorage swaps market? Paul Lyon reports
Bilateral collateral
Until recently, there was little legal protection from foreign investment risk.But the past few years have seen the rise of the bilateral investment treaty(BIT). Matthew Saunders shows how BITs can benefit the energy sector
Pressure on Puhca
The US General Accounting Office is to investigate whether the SEC has been lax in its oversight of the Public Utility Holding Company Act. How will this affect firms subject to Puhca requirements? By Paul Lyon
A legal rollercoaster
US-based Polygon wants to see a better restructuring deal for British Energy’sshareholders. But the hedge fund faces a struggle to prevent the UK nuclear powergenerator from delisting. Joe Marsh reports
Nymex names head of new strategy department
John D’Agostino will head up a new department at the New York Mercantile Exchange, which will focus on strategic options for expansion and growth. The exchange has promoted D’Agostino to vice-president of strategy and business development from manager…
Basel II revised default correlation values reflect industry experience, says Fitch
Basel II revised credit card default correlation values will be crucial guidelines to credit portfolio analysis under the IRB approach, says Fitch Ratings, a rating agency based in New York.
Learning from Esops' fables
France's SNCF is concentrating on the risks, particularly the operational ones, associated with its new employee savings programme. Duncan Wood reports on its progress, and throws light on the various other Esop-type products on the market.
The Road to Compliance
In the race to meet new regulatory compliance, CIOs have their hands full. How close are they to the finish line?
You’re Hit!
Wall Street and the global capital markets are prepared for another physical attack, but is the industry ready for cyber-terrorism?
Cash margin squeeze benefits Japan forex derivatives dealers
Derivatives dealers in Japan are in demand, as spread compression in vanilla foreign exchange has prompted foreign banks to look elsewhere for margin.
Remove barriers to group-wide Know Your Customer standards, urges Basel Committee
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has called on all national jurisdictions to remove legal restrictions that impede effective consolidated Know Your Customer (KYC) risk management processes, and facilitate the process by providing an appropriate…
Nymex ends open-outcry trading of PJM monthly power futures
The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) will move daytime trading of the PJM monthly electricity futures contract to ClearPort, its internet-based system, from the open-outcry trading floor on November 1.
Edison Mission Energy sells stake in NZ utility
California-based Edison Mission Energy has completed the sale of its 51.2% stake in New Zealand-based Contact Energy to Origin Energy New Zealand. Origin paid NZ$1.1 billion ($739 million) in cash and assumed NZ$535 million ($359 million) in debt to take…
Shell completes sale of refined products pipelines
Shell Oil Products US has sold its major refined oil products pipeline systems to asset acquisition companies for $1 billion. Oklahoma-based Magellan Midstream Partners has paid $490 million for the mid-continent system, while Pennsylvania-based Buckeye…
CSFB/Tremont launches sector invest indexes
Hedge fund index provider Credit Suisse First Boston Tremont Index has launched 10 new investable hedge fund indexes, collectively called the CSFB/Tremont sector invest indexes, in response to “widespread investor demand”, the company said in a statement.
The poet of risk regulation
Jaime Caruana has been seeking harmony in his role as chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Now that the final text of the new Basel Accord has finally been released, Caruana can comment on the work he has done – and give his views on…