Risk magazine
Auction fixes low recovery rates for Smurfit-Stone CDS
At an auction held today, data vendor Markit and broker Creditex determined final settlement values for credit derivatives trades referencing St Louis- and Chicago-based paper-packaging company Smurfit-Stone Container.
Senior bankers swap seats at BNP
Jacques d'Estais, BNP Paribas' head of corporate and investment banking, has exchanged jobs with the head of asset management and services, Alain Papiasse.
SEC charges Stanford with fraud
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged R Allen Stanford with orchestrating a fraud of a "shocking magnitude" via his asset management and broker-dealer advisory companies under the Stanford Group name.
Crunch time for Solvency II
The top European Union institutions are embroiled in trilateral negotiations in Brussels to agree on a draft text of the Solvency II insurance directive before the April 2 deadline.
US Treasury doubles aid to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
The US Treasury is investing another $200 billion in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as part of a fresh effort to prevent a wave of foreclosures.
MBIA lances structured finance from municipal business
Monoline insurer MBIA has split itself into two, creating a new business focused solely on US public finance bond insurance while siphoning off its festering structured product commitments into a separate legal entity.
FSA names chief operating officer
Mark Norris has joined the UK Financial Services Authority as chief operating officer.
Pensions before dividends, UK regulator orders
The UK Pensions Regulator has warned companies they should not continue paying shareholder dividends at the expense of their pension schemes.
SGCIB reshuffles management team to integrate divisions
Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking (SGCIB) has reorganised its management structure as part of a move to integrate its capital markets activities.
CDSs on Irish banks widen further
The cost of credit protection on Irish banks rose steeply this morning as the European Commission warned Ireland's budgetary deficit could widen to 9.5% of GDP by the end of 2009.
Steinberg leaves BNP Paribas
Todd Steinberg, New York-based head of equity and commodity derivatives for the Americas at BNP Paribas, has resigned from the bank.
2008 worst year for hedge funds since records began
2008 was the worst year for hedge fund performance since data onalternative investment pools began to be tracked, with average returns of -17.08% across asset classes for the past year, a new report has revealed.
Exposure to eastern Europe hurts German bank CDSs
The cost of credit protection on many European banks has risen on concern over their exposure to deteriorating economic conditions in eastern Europe.
LCH.Clearnet to expand CDS clearing into eurozone
LCH.Clearnet plans to clear credit default swaps (CDS) in the eurozone by the end of the year, having already launched a CDS clearing service in the UK.
BoE stability chief calls for stress war games
Banks could be forced to carry out joint stress tests to model the knock-on effects of a single disturbance on the entire financial system, according to the Bank of England's head of financial market stability, Andrew Haldane.
CFTC acts to shut out grain futures speculators
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved new rules designed to reduce distortions in the soft commodity futures markets caused by speculative activity.
CDSs widen on UK banks
Credit derivatives referencing UK banks continued to widen this morning, following a week in which Lloyds TSB announced it will absorb a £10 billion loss due to its merger with HBOS.
CDS spreads widen on Ireland
The cost of credit protection on Irish sovereign debt rose to record levels in early trading today.
SEC parts ways with enforcer Thomsen
Linda Thomsen, enforcement director for the US Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC), is to step down after a 14-year stint at the regulator. Her departure follows widespread criticism of the SEC in the wake of the Bernard Madoff scandal.
US and European firms in bid for LCH
A consortium of major US and European financial institutions is lining up a bid for London-based derivatives clearing house LCH.Clearnet. Deutsche Bank is acting as adviser on the acquisition, as well as being part of the bidding group.
Swiss Re's CEO steps down after securitisation writedowns
Jacques Aigrain, the chief executive of Zurich-based reinsurer Swiss Re, has resigned following the company's announcement that it expects to make a SFr 1 billion net loss for 2008.
CDS spreads on financials widen again
The cost of credit protection on US and European financial institutions rose in early trading today, despite falling on Wednesday on news of a plan by the US treasury to purchase $1 trillion worth of illiquid assets.