News
Park Place poised to launch Italian hedge fund
London-based hedge fund Park Place Capital plans to launch its first hedge fund in Italy. The firm, which is currently awaiting approval from the Italian regulators, hopes to launch sometime later this year, said Philip Hands, a partner at the London…
Regulator exposes potential market manipulation by Enron
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc) has requested that energy firms supply detailed trading data to ascertain if there was any market manipulation during the California energy crisis of 2000-2001.
FSA proposes new capital adequacy framework
Britain’s principal business regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), is seeking comments on its proposed capital adequacy framework, which is designed to more closely align the amount of capital a company holds with the risks it takes.
Application Networks comes out from shadows
Application Networks, a software provider specialising in software for leading capital market firms, has announced its first Wall Street customer.
Travelers risk head says underwriting back at the fore
The role of the underwriter has returned to prominence within the insurance industry, according to Scott Belden, managing director of risk and reinsurance for Travelers Property Casualty.
No “new role” for RCC in Japanese NPL clean-up, claims ING
The decision by Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial (MTFG) to step up its sell-off of bad loans to the Resolution and Collection Corporation (RCC) will have little tangible effect on cleaning up Japanese financial institutions’ burgeoning non-performing loans …
FrontPoint hires equity arbitrage strategy team
US investment management firm FrontPoint Partners has hired a three-man quantitative equity arbitrage team aimed at developing an investment strategy generating low volatility absolute returns using liquid and risk-controlled methodologies.
Isda seeks development help on FpML for exotic equities
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has appealed for help from the industry in its attempt to extend the Financial products Markup Language (FpML) to exotic equity derivatives.
Credit Markets Update: Spreads narrow on positive Cisco news
Credit derivatives spreads generally narrowed today following an upturn in worldwide stock markets after stronger-than-expected results from technology bellwether Cisco Systems. The networking company reported a net profit of $729 million for its third…
Raeburn named new ACT chief
The UK's Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) has named ex-KPMG partner Richard Raeburn as its new chief executive.
CDO ratings hurt by rates risk, says Fitch
The market preoccupation with default rates negatively affecting collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) ignores the equal risk of interest rate risk embedded in high-yield cashflow instruments, especially for deals completed between 1997 and 1999,…
London restaurant buys weather derivatives
A London restaurant that sees fewer customers on cold days is using derivatives to protect against financial loss resulting from unfavourable weather.
High-profile additions to PRMIA 'blue ribbon' panel
The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) has appointed the academic Stephen Figlewski and Stephen Kealhofer, one of the founders of credit risk measurement firm KMV, to its 'blue ribbon' advisory panel.
FX volatility drought clears as US dollar softens
The volatility drought in the forex markets could be over, market participants told RiskNews ' sister publication FX Week , as sustained losses in the US dollar last week brought currency pairs out of the narrow ranges they have traded since the start of…
Morgan Stanley set to launch European synthetic ‘Tracer’
Morgan Stanley plans to launch a synthetic version of its tradable custodial receipt – ‘Tracer’ – product soon in Europe, following its introduction of a Tracer index based on single-name credit default swaps in the US in mid-April, and its launch of…
FSA retreats on insurer credit risk transfer concerns
The UK’s Financial Services Authority today said it generally has faith in insurers that use credit derivatives as a means for risk transfer. This contradicts previous statements by FSA chairman Howard Davies, who signalled his desire to clamp down on…
Hong Kong retail investors' derivatives usage trebles
The number of Hong Kong retail investors buying derivatives increased three-fold last year, according to a survey released this week.
BofA highlights danger of over-leveraged synthetics
The over-leveraging of investment grade corporate credit-backed synthetic collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) accentuated the impact of credit downgrades last year, according to new research by Bank of America.
Rates Markets Update: Swap flows increase on economic news
Dollar-swaps saw big flows this week following a US Treasury announcement on Monday that it plans to borrow $120 billion to cover its budget shortfall. Ten-year swap spreads had come in from 57.5 basis points at the start of the week to 52bp midweek,…
