Risk magazine
Paulson: buying MBSs no longer Tarp priority
Treasury secretary Hank Paulson closed the door to systematic US government purchases of illiquid mortgage-backed securities under its $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Programme (Tarp), during a briefing in Washington, DC today.
US home loan modification scheme unveiled
In an effort to halt home foreclosures, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), in conjunction with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, unveiled a programme to ease payment terms for hundreds of thousands of US mortgage holders on Tuesday.
EC outlines proposal to regulate rating agencies
The European Commission (EC) today outlined a formal proposal to regulate credit rating agencies, which it hopes will improve the quality of ratings, restore investor confidence and reduce the conflicts of interest “inherent to the ratings business”.
UK Libor unmoved by recession news
The Bank of England (BoE)'s predictions of continued economic downturn failed to move the sterling interbank markets today.
European CDSs continue to climb
The cost of credit protection on European banks increased in early trading today, while market sentiment towards US financial institutions remained favourable.
Fannie Mae and AIG pummelled in Q3
This week, both Fannie Mae and AIG reported steep losses in the third quarter of this year.
EC derivatives working group meets to overhaul OTC markets
The European Commission’s working group on derivatives, established on October 22, held its first meeting in Brussels last week.
HSBC Q3 profits up on Q3 2007
HSBC's third-quarter profits rose this year, despite a $271 million loss on its US operations and a total of $7.9 billion in writedowns.
UK CDSs rise
The cost of credit protection on European banks widened today while market sentiment towards US financial institutions improved.
Lukken calls for regulatory overhaul as he prepares to step down
Walter Lukken, acting chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, today called for new oversight arrangements and defended the independence of the CFTC, in one of his last speeches before he leaves his post in January.
Markets indifferent to Amex conversion as auto-maker bail-out looms
Credit spreads on American Express debt narrowed marginally yesterday while equity prices hit a new low as US markets were largely unmoved by news of the credit card company’s conversion into a bank holding company.
Hong Kong's SFC puts structured product approvals on ice
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has delayed approvals of structured product issues for retail distribution following protests from Hong Kong investors that have lost money from the blow-up of so-called minibond structured credit…
Icap releases guidance on OTC markets
The future course of the over-the-counter derivatives markets will depend on the simplification and overhaul of existing infrastructure so that it becomes more transparent, Risk heard at an Icap press briefing this morning.
CDS spreads fall this morning
The cost of credit protection on European banks tightened in early trading today after reaching a peak on Friday, as quarterly profits plummeted.
Treasury and Fed help AIG lay-off CDO risk
AIG was shored up by a restructuring plan hammered out by the US Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank of New York today, which involved the creation of an off-balance-sheet vehicle to neutralise some of the insurer’s hefty collateralised debt obligation …
Ted spread continues to fall
Following last week's rate cuts, the Ted spread, which tracks the difference between three-month Libor and Treasury bills, had fallen today to 2.01 when trading opened, the same level as September 15, when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.
Liquidnet expands into Singapore
Liquidnet, a global institutional marketplace, will open an office in Singapore in November amid growing interest in the region from its buy-side members.
Sterling Libor eases after rate cuts
Yesterday’s interest rate cuts in the UK and Europe substantially eased interbank lending conditions this morning.
Russian stocks dragged down by plummeting oil price
Trading volumes on Russia’s two main stock exchanges, Russian Trading System (RTS) and the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (Micex), were significantly down in October, following plunging commodity prices and a worsened global financial outlook.
Porsche makes €6.83bn on VW options
Porsche revealed today it had made a €6.83 billion gain in the past business year on cash-settled options on shares of rival German car manufacturer Volkswagen.
European and American CDS spreads up again
The cost of credit protection on European banks continued to widen in early trading today as quarterly profits plunged across the board.
Nomura takes on ex-Lehman staff
Nomura, the Tokyo-based financial services group, has appointed Thomas Siegmund and Jai Rapal as joint heads of fixed income for Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan. They will both report to Zenji Nakamura, head of global fixed income.
SG hit by €1.27 billion in writedowns
Société Générale's profits dropped 84% in the third quarter, as the bank's exposure to various aspects of the credit crisis caused it to announce writedowns of €1.27 billion.
Trader and equity derivatives heads depart DB
Two senior equity derivatives heads and one equity derivatives trader have left Deutsche Bank after it reported €386 million in losses on its equity prop trading book.