News
Credit Lyonnais to trade weather risk
Credit Lyonnais has set up a weather derivatives unit, adding to the recent thrust of new entrants into the embryonic market. Peter Brewer, who joins Credit Lyonnais from US energy firm Aquila, will head the London-based weather desk.
JP Morgan Chase may exit European energy business
JP Morgan Chase has lost nine of its energy derivatives traders, fuelling speculation that the US investment bank may close its energy operations, at least in Europe, following widespread cost-cutting and restructuring.
Aquila cuts staff to stave-off rating downgrade
Aquila, the Missouri-based energy trader, has cut 200 jobs across its merchant services energy risk management division. A total of 150 of the cuts are in its Kansas City head office, 43 are across its other North American offices and seven will affect…
DrKW boosts derivatives team in Japan
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein has hired Masanori Katagiri as director and head of equity derivatives structuring in Japan.
Hedgeworld launches due-dilligence reports
Hedgeworld and National Collection Center Group of the US have launched a series of internet-based reports on hedge fund managers for investors. 'Hedgeworld manager background reports' were designed to allow investors to conduct due-diligence into…
Asian investors look to structured credit
Low interest rates and tight credit spreads are fuelling an interest for structured credit products in the Asia-Pacific region, according to bankers. And a variety of structured and hybrid products are now being marketed to Asian investors there.
GFI introduces Belgian electricity pricing screen
US interdealer broker and derivatives pricing software provider GFI has expanded its European online electricity service by adding a pricing screen for the Belgian market.
Credit Markets Update: Telekom bond re-pricing rumours pull in telco spreads
Rumours of heavy over-subscription and a possible re-pricing on Deutsche Telekom’s forthcoming €5 billion bond issue caused five-year credit default swaps on Germany’s main telecommunications company to tighten 10 basis points today to 220bp/230bp. The…
New chief executive for Zurich Capital Markets
Zurich Capital Markets (ZCM), the alternative asset management unit of Zurich Financial Services, has hired Stephen Sinacore as its new chief executive. He replaces Randall Kau, who left the firm to “pursue other interests".
Goldman's head quant Derman to retire
Emanuel Derman, head of Goldman Sachs' quantitative risk strategies group in firmwide risk, will retire from the firm in June.
Asset managers point to growing importance of credit derivatives
Dutch asset manager Robeco and London-based Cheyne Capital Management say knowledge developed through managing synthetics is allowing them to use credit derivatives more extensively. Both have new synthetic collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) in the…
Korean equity index volumes rocket, says BIS review
Korean and Japanese equity index contract volumes were the highlight of derivatives trading in the first quarter of this year, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), whose quarterly review of banking and financial markets developments…
Merrill’s debt protection costs fall following Spitzer deal
The cost of protection on Merrill Lynch senior five-year debt narrowed 25 basis points to 65bp/75bp today following the firm's settlement with New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer.
Futuresource to use Kdb for commodities database
Futuresource, a US provider of commodities and foreign exchange cash, futures and options data, will use Kx Systems’ Kdb database for its new scalable tick commodities database. The database is scheduled to begin rolling out mid-year, with implementation…
German golf club hedges against rainy days
A German golf club has become the latest European end-user to buy weather risk protection. Spectron Group, the London-based energy broker, arranged the precipitation-linked deal - its first leisure-sector weather derivative - along with French bank…
Askari CEO and founder Davies to step down
Peter Davies, founder and chief executive of Askari, told RiskNews that he has resigned from the company after a decade at the helm of the New York-headquartered specialist buy-side risk management vendor.
Basel II won’t affect most US banks, central banker says
The Basel II bank capital Accord will have virtually no effect on most US banks, US Federal Reserve Board vice-chairman Roger Ferguson said today.
Primus lures in Swiss Re’s Schaumann plus other key staff
Hilmar Schaumann, a senior credit derivatives trader for Swiss Re in New York, has quit the firm to join Primus Financial Products, a wholesale provider of credit risk protection.
BNP Paribas adds to energy derivatives team
BNP Paribas has hired two energy derivatives traders from JP Morgan Chase. Larry Felske joins BNP’s commodity-indexed transactions group as a director of natural gas options trading in New York, and Olivier Knight joins BNP’s London desk as an oil…
ICE expands into European power markets
Atlanta-based electronic energy and commodities trading platform the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is set to trade UK, German and French power derivatives.
Currency overlay may see strong growth in US
Currency overlay – the management of currency exposures in an investment portfolio separate from underlying asset exposures – is set to increase in the US at a rapid rate, claimed speakers at a global foreign exchange conference hosted by Deutsche Bank…
Danske continues forwards drive
Den Danske Bank has recruited foreign exchange forwards dealer Barry Smith in London as part of the bank’s bid to rebuild its forwards desk, said Matthew Couch, Den Danske's chief dealer for money markets forwards.
Citigroup names new global head of FX options
Citigroup has made Steven Reiter global head of foreign exchange options, replacing Ian Robertson, who filled the post temporarily after the departure of former options head Jack Jeffery in December.
Goldman Sachs seeks to boost CDO transparency
Goldman Sachs is seeking to improve collateralised debt obligation (CDO) market transparency by making the proprietary models for cashflow CDOs it underwrites available to all subscribers of Intex CDO analytics. Intex is a widely used electronic database…