News
Goodbye VAR? Basel to consider other risk metrics
Trading book review will look at replacing value-at-risk, but quants say the obvious alternative - expected shortfall - is not much better
Changing hats, March 2012
Sharon Bowles retains her role as chair of Econ in the EU, while Rosalind Tyson retires from the SEC and Chartis appoints a new CRO
Nomura and Tradition partner to launch electronic ETF trading platform
The Navesis-ETF platform will allow institutional traders, sell-side banks and market-makers to carry out intra-day and auction trading of exchange-traded funds
Commodity investing to bounce back in 2012
Investments in commodities are expected to increase in 2012 after dipping last year, with crude oil, gold and copper tipped as best performers, according to a Barclays Capital survey
Indian corporates struggle with FCCB redemptions
Many Indian issuers of foreign currency convertible bonds maturing this year face defaulting on the debt after depressed equity prices force the companies to redeem rather than convert the bonds to equity
Fuhr creates ETF advisory firm
Deborah Fuhr, Shane Kelly and Matthew Murray have formed ETF Global Insight, a consultancy that will offer independent advice to the global ETF community
Doubts raised over US Department of Energy CRO proposal
An independent consultant hired by the White House to assess the US Department of Energy’s loan programmes in the wake of the Solyndra bankruptcy has advised the agency to hire a corporate-style chief risk officer and beef up its risk-management…
Margin rules for uncleared FX rest with regulatory working groups
Regulators must adopt a calibrated approach to mandated collateral so that short-dated FX swaps and forwards are not caught up in the rules unnecessarily, argue market participants
Aegon €12 billion longevity swap ‘shows appetite of capital market for diversifying assets’
Aegon €12 billion longevity swap ‘shows appetite of capital market investors for diversifying assets’
Danish and Latvian debt offices weigh two-way collateral
The costs of transacting swaps with one-way CSAs mean more debt offices could join Hungary, Ireland, Portugal and Sweden
PowerShares adds to high beta ETFs to capitalise on bull markets
Invesco Powershares has listed two exchange-traded funds that provide exposure to high-beta stocks from emerging and developed markets
CFTC: largest 6% of CDS and rates trades to get block exemptions
Hundreds of OTC product types would receive different reporting and trading thresholds under new CFTC proposals - but there is no exemption for equity derivatives
Futures markets could get OTC-style safeguards
Futures market participants expect tougher - and more expensive - collateral protections to be introduced as a result of the MF Global debacle, and the CFTC is ruling nothing out
Six Swiss Exchange opens Cosi listings to UK banks
The exchange will allow UK banks to issue products using its collateral secured investments (Cosi) service from the UK. Germany is also expected to be on the list to receive the extended service
Falling volatility makes buying options compelling, says Deutsche Bank strategist
Low volatility means purchasing options is now attractive, even for higher-beta sectors, according to a Deutsche Bank strategist
Ambition of Basel's trading book review has faded, sources say
Patchwork of risk measures - including standalone CVA charge - may be left intact
Suspected $150 million rogue trade uncovered at Threadneedle
City of London Police investigating blocked trade
HSBC voted best for retail structured products in Greenwich Associates survey
HSBC leads the Greenwich Associates survey rankings for retail structured product quality, while Barclays Capital has the best-known franchise among distributors and BNP Paribas retains top spot in Europe
Deutsche Bank and SCM announce first ETF of ETFs to be listed in the UK
db-X trackers and SCM have partnered to list an actively managed exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to a selection of Deutsche Bank ETFs and ETCs
Market welcomes ‘pragmatic’ approach to central clearing by MAS
Singapore regulator wants central clearing but is agnostic over where it takes place
RWA probe could cut modelling flexibility, says new Basel chief
A stricter approach to the modelling of bank capital is "high likely", as a result of concerns that risk-weighted asset numbers are too divergent
Refiners step up hedging activity
Refineries in Europe have stepped up their hedging activity in recent months as they take advantage of a recovery in margins, market participants say
Financial market shake-up in Spain triggers changes in retail structured product wrappers
Fiscal and regulatory reforms announced by the new Spanish government have led market participants to rethink wrappers and product maturities, with growth and fund-linked products likely to benefit
Greek bailout deal fails to dent CDS spreads
Sovereign spreads flat or wider despite agreement on fresh bailout for Greece