News
Nordea snares Andreasen and Bangert to boost exotics
Nordea Markets, the investment banking arm of pan-Nordic bank Nordea, has made two key hires as part of its bid to boost complex derivatives activities.
BNP boosts Asia-Pacific fixed-income derivatives team
French bank BNP Paribas has made three new hires to its Asia-Pacific interest rate derivatives trading team in Singapore.
AngloGold cuts hedging by 12%
South Africa’s largest gold producer, AngloGold, reduced its hedge book by 12% in the first quarter, as it moved to gain exposure to a rising spot price.
WorldCom spreads blow out
The cost of protection on WorldCom’s five-year debt blew out today, following the resignation of chief executive Bernard Ebbers.
ABN Amro snaps up HVB’s Seeger
Dutch bank ABN Amro has hired Kai Seeger from HypoVereinsbank as part of its step-up in credit derivatives activity under the stewardship of Arnie Groes, head of global credit derivatives.
Wall Street Systems offers rates module
Wall Street Systems has released an interest rate derivatives (IRD) module, which supports traditional analytic models as well as multiple-term structure models such as Black-Derman-Toy, Hull-White and Black-Karasinksi.
Citi and JPMC days away from FX Connect integration
The integration of Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase on State Street's FX Connect is only days away, said Simon Wilson-Taylor, managing director of Global Link.
Basel regulators hope for SME solution by mid-June
Global banking regulators are optimistic they can resolve by mid-June the vexed question of the treatment of lending to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under the proposed Basel II bank capital adequacy Accord.
GFI unveils Fenics 2002 upgrade
Interdealer broker GFI today unveiled details of enhancements to its Fenics options pricing system, which is used by an estimated 85% of global options dealers.
German securitisation volumes quadruple in Q1
The German securitisation market quadrupled in the first quarter of 2002 to end at $8.42 billion, compared with $2.16 billion in Q1 2001. This makes Germany the largest securitisation market by volume in Europe, with the UK second with $8.3 billion and…
Rates Market Update: US spreads hit four-year low
US swap spreads reached a four-and-a-half year low this week, as expectations of increased treasury issuance combined with a large amount of corporate activity brought an influx of floating rate receivers into the market. Ten-year swap spreads ended the…
Morgan Stanley arranges €4bn-plus synthetic CDO
US investment bank Morgan Stanley is arranging a €4 billion plus synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO) due to be managed by London-based investment boutique Cheyne Capital Management.
Euronext to launch dedicated warrants platform
Pan-European exchange Euronext is set to launch a platform dedicated exclusively to warrants, in a move designed to enhance the visibility of the market and promote trading.
Nera readies for CDO ‘notching’ investigation
New York-based economic consulting firm National Economics Research Associates (Nera) has finalised its research plan for its structured finance ratings comparability study.
FASB names Robert Herz new chairman
Robert Herz, a senior partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York, has been named as the new chairman of the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the body responsible for derivatives Financial Accounting Standard 133.
Volcker challenges the benefits of financial engineering
Paul Volcker, US Federal Reserve chairman between 1979 and 1987 and present chair of the Independent Oversight Board for embattled Enron auditor Arthur Andersen, has said he is "ambivalent" about the value of financial engineering to the US economy.
Gold hedging falls 4.5% in 2001, says study
Gold hedging fell 4.5% last year, as producers saw little premium from selling gold forward due in part to the low interest rate environment.
Risk 2002 Europe: Derman highlights new behavioural finance direction
A fresh perspective on the risk-reward payoff that drives financial markets can be gained by abandoning the traditional concept of time in financial models, according to Emanuel Derman, a New York-based managing director in Goldman Sachs’ firm-wide risk…
JP Morgan restructures credit and interest rate operations
JP Morgan Chase is creating a global credit management group, incorporating credit risk management, corporate banking and credit lending. The new division is intended to reflect a market trend away from differentiating between different debt instruments…
Fresh calls for OTC energy market regulation
A broad-based coalition of natural gas producers, service companies, consumer groups and utilities is set to call on the US Congress and federal regulatory agencies to regulate the over-the-counter (OTC) energy derivatives market.
Credit Agricole Indosuez boosts credit derivatives team in Asia
Credit Agricole Indosuez has hired Medes Ma as credit trading manager in its credit derivatives team in Hong Kong, according to Loïc Fery, head of credit derivatives Asia.
Algorithmics charts new business strategy
Ron Dembo, founder and chief executive officer of risk management systems provider Algorithmics, has said that within a few years, one third of Algorithmics’ revenue could come from the company’s new alliance with Bloomberg, announced in January…
Atriax fall stirs corporates into action
Online FX trading could be set to soar, according to industry officials, after the collapse of multi-bank platform Atriax removed some obstacles to client take-up. And its rival FXall looks set to benefit most from the surge in uptake, according to a…
HVB invests in equity trading with Front
Hypovereinsbank (HVB), the German private sector bank, has extended its agreement with Stockholm-based trading technology providers Front Capital Systems, an operating unit of SunGard Trading Systems. HVB will implement Front Arena globally for its…