News
Merrill restructures global debt markets
Dow Kim, Merrill Lynch’s new head of global debt markets, has named a series of new team leaders that will spearhead Merrill’s drive to integrate its cash, derivatives, origination, structuring and marketing of debt products.
Tremont, RiskMetrics to improve hedge fund risk reporting
Tremont Advisers, the global provider of hedge fund investment management services, has established a joint venture with RiskMetrics, which provides financial analytics, benchmark risk measurement and wealth management tools. The two companies are…
Argentina debt swap declared a 'default'
Attempts by Argentina's economy minister Domingo Cavallo to change the structure of $132 billion of his country's debt, has received a damaging response from international credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch stated that the move constitutes "a distressed…
SunGard appoints two new presidents
SunGard Trading and Risk Systems has appointed new presidents to lead two of its operating units. Paul Murphy becomes president of SunGard Collateral and Steve Husk joins as president of Credient/Infinity. Both Murphy and Husk will report to Jim Ashton,…
Cessation of 30-year Treasury bonds raises dealer fears
The decision last week by the US Treasury to stop issuing 30-year bonds caused a significant amount of activity in the markets, as traders sought to adjust to the surprise news. Spreads in 30-year US dollar interest rate swaps widened by 12 basis points…
Deutsche enhances online risk system
Deutsche Bank has added two major components to its DBIQ online analysis system that will allow analysis of structural risks and present value-at-risk (VAR) analysis through full Monte Carlo simulation. The DBIQ portfolio system and DBIQ risk system…
RMS launches new daily model for Climetrix
Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the California-based provider of products and services for the management of natural hazard risks, has released an advanced daily temperature simulation model that offers a new capability for valuing weather derivatives…
IFS calls in receivers, seeks buyer
FX trading technology firm IFS has gone into receivership following an unproductive takeover of Dene International and a drop in sales of its flagship product, a spokesperson for the firm said.
ICE promotes Marcial to CTO
Atlanta-based online commodities exchange, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), has promoted Edwin Marcial from vice-president, technology, to senior vice-president and chief technology officer. ICE says the appointment emphasises the importance of its…
Clearstream prepares for takoever
Clearstream, the European clearing and settlement house, is in the process of speaking with rival body Euroclear and Deutsche Borse over plans for a takeover. Clearstream’s Luxembourg-based board will consider both proposals, which outline the indicative…
Nomura adds to capital markets business
Nomura International has made a number of new hires to its capital markets business, in a move to leverage its position in the yen markets. Nomura also says the new hires should broaden the origination capabilities of its fixed-income business.
West LB commodities desk signs up with OpenLink
The global financial markets unit at Germany's West LB is to use New York-based OpenLink's Endur trading, risk management and transaction processing system for its energy and precious metals trading desk in London.
S&P unveils new ratings model
International rating agency Standard & Poor's is to introduce a new partial guarantee model to help companies seeking to upgrade their credit ratings. The model marks a move away from the weak-link rating approach currently being used, where corporations…
Fidelity forex unit adopts FNX’s Sierra
Fidelity forex, a unit of Fidelity Capital Markets that provides foreign exchange (FX) pricing to institutional investors, has implemented the Sierra Treasury System developed by FNX, a provider of straight-through processing solutions to the global…
S&P unveils new ratings model
International rating agency Standard & Poor's is to introduce a new partial guarantee model to help companies seeking to upgrade their credit ratings. The model marks a move away from the weak-link rating approach currently being used, where corporations…
Citic Industrial Bank ramps-up risk systems
China’s Citic Industrial Bank has adopted SunGard’s Panorama risk management solution, which marks the US trading and risk management systems firm’s first major client in the potentially lucrative Chinese market. And as the country’s largest banks…
Liffe's future lies with Euronext
The board of the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (Liffe) has unanimously voted to recommend a £555 million ($806 million) cash takeover bid by pan-European exchange operator Euronext to its shareholders. The other bidders were…
Vontobel to use Ubitrade derivatives system
Swiss private bank Vontobel is to install trading technology developed by France's Ubitrade to manage its listed derivatives.
EEX and LPX merge
Germany's two electricity exchanges, the European Energy Exchange (EEX) and the Leipzig Power Exchange (LPX), will merge by the start of next year. The new exchange will be called EEX, and will be based in Leipzig. It will be jointly run by Hans…
CIBC to use Egar's dispersion software
CIBC World Markets, the investment banking arm of Canada's CIBC, has licensed Egar Dispersions, a volatility dispersion strategy analyser that shows investment opportunities in changes in the relationship between options on an equity index and options on…
Moody's integrates credit risk software with GFA
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) launched its newest product, the 10-year interest rate swap future, today. The new instrument will trade in the agency/swap futures pit and on the CBOT's electronic trading platform.
Barclays launches natural resources ETF
Barclays Global Investors has launched a new exchange–traded fund (ETF) that tracks an index made up of US companies in the natural resources sector. The product lets investors gain exposure to the natural resources sector using a single security.
Moody's integrates credit risk software with GFA
Moody’s Risk Management Services (MRMS) and California-based Gifford Fong Associates (GFA), provider of financial consulting and propriety analytical tools, have completed the integration of their default prediction and fixed-income portfolio management…
JP Morgan and Deutsche move to offer broad indexes
JP Morgan Chase and Deutsche Bank have signed up to US technology solutions provider Longitude’s Parimutuel Digital Call Auction (PDCA) technology, which could herald the introduction of broader index trading based on economic data. The PDCA technology…