News
Cautious outlook from oil experts at industry event
A sharp increase in oil demand from non-OECD countries will compensate for peaking demand in OECD area
Korean risk premiums exceed Thailand, ‘raised long term'
Tensions on the Korean peninsula mean CDS prices are likely to stay high for some time, analysts say
US investors still sensitive to counterparty risk
Counterparty risk remains a dominant theme for US investors, who are keen to analyse issuer credit ratings and credit default swap levels before buying a structured product. Richard Jory asks senior US industry figures how attitudes to counterparty…
Volatility fears increase after May whiplash
Equity markets suffered a whiplash effect before and after the second weekend of May, with the Eurostoxx 50 dropping 4.26% on Friday, May 7, only to bounce back by 10.35% the following Monday.
Structured Products Asia Awards 2010: Call for entries
The interviews for the annual Structured Products awards for Asia will start in August, with submissions in the categories below to be delivered to the editorial team by Monday July 19.
Increased volatility could help structure attractive returns
Widening bond spreads and market volatility will result in more interesting structured products, according to Morgan Stanley. The spikes in volatility that followed news of a hung parliament in the UK and the disagreements over a bail-out package for…
UBS fines for misselling structured products could be first of many
UBS has come under fire in a series of court cases in the US for inappropriate sales of Lehman Brothers principal-protected notes and a failure to inform retail investors properly of the risks involved. More cases are likely.
DnB Nor returns to the Norwegian structured products market
Nordic bank DnB Nor will resume distribution of structured products to high-net-worth investors and affluent retail clients in Norway on May 25. The two new products, translated roughly as “Global ‘Trigg’ (safe)” and “Top Norden” (top selected stocks…
Barclays says kick-outs remain popular despite ISA confusion
Barclays Wealth says kick-out structures remain popular in the UK, despite the recent confusion over Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) eligibility. Barclays is reissuing two kick-out structures to UK investors.
FTSE targets UK pensions industry with defined contribution index
FTSE has created an index to help asset managers and retail investors navigate the pensions market. The index provider has partnered with London-based data services firm Pension DCisions to create the first benchmark for the UK’s defined contributions…
ETNs come to Finland with listing on the Nasdaq Helsinki
The Nordic market has been slower to pick up on the trend for exchange-traded products than its southern European counterparts but progress comes with Swedish bank Handelsbanken’s listing of Finland’s first exchange-traded notes (ETN) on the Nasdaq OMX…
Société Générale launches commodities ETN platform
As appetite for listed products and the transparency they offer increases, Société Générale (SG) has launched its first exchange-traded notes (ETN) on the London Stock Exchange, giving investors access to single commodities in a variety of currencies.
Markit ETP database provides tool to navigate market
The market for exchange-traded products (ETPs) is expanding as more products and issuers come to market, making it more difficult for asset managers and traders to make decisions about which ETFs to use.
Swiss exchange sees increase in structured product turnover
Turnover for structured products on the Swiss Scoach exchange is recovering after a dip in December last year, according to figures from the Swiss Structured Products Association. Volumes reached Sfr3.68 billion ($3.35 billion) in April 2010. Most of the…
RBS and NAB offer investors the chance to restrike
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and National Australian Bank (NAB) have teamed up to offer a product called Re-Strike, which will give investors with non-performing investments the chance to reset capital. RBS is the issuer.
Instinet: HKEx needs to break clearing and settlement monopoly
Instinet's Asia chief executive Glenn Lesko says Hong Kong needs to open up clearing and settlement to allow competing exchanges to operate
CDS spreads tighten for eurozone debt crisis countries
Fall in cost of insuring eurozone sovereign debt follows a volatile week