Risk magazine
Ahold credit protection trading on upfront-only basis
Credit protection for Dutch retailer Ahold is now trading on an upfront basis only following the company's admission of accounting irregularities.
Refco launches alternative investments division
US futures broker Refco is launching an alternative investments division to sell structured products that incorporate hedge funds, futures, currency and various other derivatives.
South Korea reclassifies ELNs and warrants
South Korea’s Ministry of Finance and Economics (MOFE) has reclassified equity-linked notes (ELNs) and warrants as securities under the country's revised Securities and Exchange Act, according to an official at the MOFE. The move – which came into effect…
Citco Fund Services founder sets up new hedge fund administrator
Tony Stocks, former global director of fund services at Citco, has set up a new company, Tennyson Capital Partners, to offer a suite of integrated services to early stage hedge funds.
Basel Committee releases new op risk sound practices paper
The risk management group of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision today released a final paper outlining a framework for the effective management and supervision of operational risk.
Fitch predicts global CDO market volatility to continue in 2003
Credit agency Fitch predicts that ratings volatility in the global collateralised debt obligation market is likely to continue this year, according to its latest report, ‘Global CDO Quarterly’.
Fitch acquires IC2 First op risk database
Fitch Risk, a division of rating agency Fitch Ratings, has acquired the IC2 First (financial institutions risk scenario trends) database from financial services provider, Zurich Financial Services Group.
CME to launch single index on seven currencies against US dollar
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will launch its new ‘CME$Index’ futures contract, an index of seven foreign currencies against the US dollar, on March 3. The contract is intended to provide end-users with a broad tool to gain or reduce their…
SunGard bolstered by 2002 acquisitions
SunGard reported positive financial results last week, but analysts noted that, stripped of the acquired companies’ revenues, SunGard’s 'organic' revenue increase for 2002 was 1% for the year, and the company’s revenue actually decreased 1% during the…
Mercer snaps up Oliver Wyman
Mercer, a consulting division of New York-listed Marsh & McLennan, has bought specialist risk management and financial service practice consultants Oliver Wyman & Company for an undisclosed sum.
Merrill hires forex derivatives marketer
Jim Crimmins will join Merrill Lynch in New York early in March as a senior foreign exchange and interest rates derivatives marketer. This is a new position, which will "add strength" to the team, said a spokesperson at the bank in New York.
DST acquires State Street’s risk management unit Askari
DST International, the software arm of US investment management services provider DTI Systems, has acquired State Street’s risk management software arm Askari for an undisclosed sum.
HKEx tweaks stock futures and options offering
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) has tweaked its range of single-stock futures and options to include contracts related to Bank of China (BOC) Hong Kong (Holdings) and suspend those of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec).
Refco launches web prime brokerage using Currenex
Refco F/X Associates, part of Refco Group, has taken its foreign exchange prime brokerage service online in a bid to improve efficiency, a senior official at the broker in Chicago told RiskNews' sister publication FX Week .
Reuters plans to tackle Bloomberg in fixed income
Jon Robson, the new head of Reuters’ fixed-income business and former chief executive of Moneyline Telerate, plans to apply his strategy at Moneyline to Reuters in a bid to diminish rival Bloomberg’s share the market.
Red backers confirm exclusive talks with Mark-it
Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, the backers of a credit derivatives reference entity database called Red, have confirmed they are in exclusive talks to sell their database to UK start-up company Mark-it Partners.
Sumitomo capital raising sparks Japanese bank spread widening
Japanese bank credit protection spreads widened this week as a capital-raising exercise by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) sparked renewed fears that banks were trying to shore-up capital reserves ahead of their year-end results.
Ex-Aquila weather traders find new jobs
Ravi Nathan, formerly head of weather trading at Missouri-based energy company Aquila, is to join insurance firm ACE, heading its weather risk management division out of its Philadelphia office. Meanwhile, six of his former Aquila colleagues are set to…
Merrill reaches agreement with SEC over Enron
Merrill Lynch has reached an agreement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pay an $80 million fine as a result of its dealings with Enron.
ThyssenKrupp downgrade prompts spread widening
The cost of protection on ThyssenKrupp widened by up to 150bp in trading this morning, following its downgrade to junk by rating agency Standard and Poor’s. The downgrade prompted renewed fears about the pension liabilities faced by Thyssen and 11 other…
Bank of America platform integrates derivatives financing capabilities
Bank of America has launched a new prime brokerage platform, integrating equity swap capabilities with traditional prime brokerage services.
Fortis launches its first managed synthetic CDO
In a deal led by Royal Bank of Scotland's Financial Markets arm, Fortis Investment Management has launched its first managed synthetic collateralized debt obligation (CDO).
JP Morgan restructures equities business
JP Morgan Chase has restructured its global equities business by moving Carlos Hernandez, previously head of global equity capital and derivatives markets, to head North American equity capital markets.
EIB to outsource derivatives collateral management
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the financing institution of the European Union, is set to outsource its derivatives collateral management activities to Dutch bank ABN Amro.