Structured products
The Mystery Behind the Numbers
A host of recent compliance regulations in the US and the UK has shined yet another light on the need for clean reference data.
No More Fake IDs
As the economy recovers, financial firms are looking for technical advantages that increase top-line revenues as well as manage costs.
Hedge funds using more leverage, says Greenwich
Almost one third of 36 hedge funds surveyed by research company Greenwich Associates increased their use of leverage in the past year.
Sarbanes-Oxley: The costly road to compliance
Some companies are looking to get a better return on their investment in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance by making it part of a larger exercise that looks at firm-wide processes and controls, and not just those surrounding financial reporting, writes Clive…
S&P places focus on energy merchant liquidity risk
Rating agency Standard & Poor’s is to issue new liquidity adequacy guidelines for US energy merchants, which are particularly vulnerable to large and sudden liquidity demands related to collateral calls.
Energy clearing in Catch 22 situation, says Fitch
Denise Furey, New York-based senior director of global power at rating agency Fitch believes that the clearing of OTC energy derivative contracts is in something of a ‘Catch 22’ predicament. “We need standardization of contract documentation to get to…
Axa launches credit-equity volatility arbitrage fund
Axa Investment Managers has launched the second generation of its credit-equity volatility arbitrage fund, called Axa Kappa.
Analysts learn to live with CP-205
The Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) new rules governing conflicts of interest in investment research could spawn a cottage industry in interior design tailored for research teams in dire need of CP-205 compliant office layouts. The CP-205 working…
EU finalising its proposal for Basel II framework, says EU official
The European Union is in the final stages of completing its proposal for the new European framework for Basel II, Alexander Schaub, director general of the EU internal market directorate has said
Basel II proposal out in June; AMA/IRB approaches to be delayed
Yesterday, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision confirmed that it will release the New Basel Accord, also known as Basel II, at the end of June 2004. But the Committee said the implementation of the advanced measurement approach (AMA) for…
Coulter considers risk concentration
In a wide-ranging speech at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association annual meeting in Chicago at the end of March, the vice-chairman of JP Morgan Chase, David Coulter, considered why there were continuing questions raised over the role of…
Advanced IRB Basel II approach delayed
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said the implementation of the advanced internal ratings-based approach (IRB) for credit risk and the advanced measurement approach (AMA) for operational risk would be delayed until the end of 2007. This will…
Covenants: crisis of confidence
Financial covenants that rely too heavily on ratios are just not sophisticated enough to predict the likelihood of default, argues Sarah Woo . Loan originators must learn a trick or two from their colleagues in portfolio management and develop…
The Enron effect
Lawsuits filed by investors in Enron against two of the fallen energy giant’s arranging banks, Citigroup and JPMorgan, have called into question the very structure of investment banking in the US, as John Hintze discovers
Moody’s KMV boosts analytics
Moody’s KMV, the San Francisco-based quantitative credit analytics firm and subsidiary of rating agency Moody's, has launched a new web-based tool to value credit spreads and analyse the drivers behind credit spread movements. It has also revamped its…
Straits Lion joins ranks of CDO managers
Straits Lion Asset Management has joined the growing ranks of Singaporean asset managers active in the synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO) market, following the launch of an Asian credit-dominated investment grade CDO arranged by Goldman Sachs.
Reliably informed
Pat Wood, chairman of US interstate energy regulator the Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission, talks to James Ockenden about reliability, regulation, and wherenext for the competitive market in the US
Price wars
Ferc is preparing to analyse the results of its survey on energy price reporting.But the American Public Gas Association is concerned that a voluntary reportingscheme cannot guarantee reliable indexes. By Paul Lyon
Heroes or cowboys?
Banks and energy companies alike are sceptical about the role that hedge fundsplay in energy markets. Are they really an aid to market stability, or is theirpresence compounding market volatility? Paul Lyon reports
Nord Pool’s back-up
Nord Pool Clearing is the first pure electricity clearing house to obtain capitalsupport through insurance to cover defaults by its trading counterparties. Areenergy companies set to follow suit? Joe Marsh reports
Fair weather future
Judging from the success of the weather risk market in the Asia-Pacific region,the Chicago Mercantile Exchange couldn’t have picked a more opportune timeto launch Japanese weather futures. By Paul Lyon
The right charge
Savvy firms now accept risk is inevitable. Those that use their risk capitalefficiently outperform those that don’t. Brett Humphreys looks at alternativeinvestments to find out what the right risk-adjusted return on capital chargesmight be
Heart broker
A bitter dispute involving an employment contract, three coal brokers and a claimfor £2 million in damages has highlighted the importance of observing contractuallaw when hiring and firing. By James Ockenden
Isda raises Basel-linked concerns
Bankers have been preparing for the implementation of the Basel II Capital Accordfor a number of years. But Isda says that it is still concerned about the effectthe Accord may have on the commodities markets. By Paul Lyon