Risk magazine
UBS Warburg to axe 10% of London derivatives workforce
UBS Warburg, the investment banking arm of Switzerland's UBS, said it plans to cut 10% of its derivatives workforce in London. The bank blamed the poor economic climate for the cuts, which are part of a wider cost-cutting exercise impacting its London…
Deutsche lures two senior equity derivatives staff from SG
Deutsche Bank has hired two senior equity derivatives specialists from French investment bank SG, part of Société Générale.
El Paso closes Singapore office amid troubles
Houston-based energy trader and gas major El Paso is closing its Singapore office. The operation, opened in January 2001, was El Paso’s base for its Asian activities, which included investment in local pipeline projects. In 2001, El Paso was the second…
RBS acquires Mizuho team to expand securitisation business
The financial markets division of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has hired three bankers from Mizuho Securities to expand its continental Europe securitisation team.
Fame and Xenomorph in data link-up
New York-based data provider Fame has teamed up with London-based data storage company Xenomorph to offer a product link-up to equity derivatives dealers.
Swiss Re signs up for updated RMS weather trading system
Swiss Re Financial Products (SRFP) has licensed an updated weather risk trading system developed by Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the California-based technology and data firm.
DrKW names Harata new head of rates trading in Tokyo
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) has hired Jun Harata as managing director and head of interest rate derivatives trading in Japan.
Credit Markets Update: Repsol spreads hit again over Argentina
The cost of protection on Spanish oil company Repsol YPF’s debt widened 50 basis points to 460bp/510bp today, in what traders described as a delayed market response to proposals last Thursday by the Argentine Commission of Energy to impose more…
BNP Paribas ready to launch Pacific Liberté $1.2 billion synthetic CLO
BNP Paribas is poised to launch a $1.2 billion, three-year synthetic balance sheet collateralised loan obligation (CLO) called Pacific Liberté, possibly as soon as this week or next, according to market sources.
Mizuho adds two to Tokyo equity derivatives trading team
Mizuho Securities has added two new hires to its equity derivatives trading team in Tokyo. Chea Srun joined from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Nav Takhar from Toronto Dominion Bank. Both will work as traders.
ING shelves Spectra synthetic CDO, mulls Japanese synthetic
ING Barings has cancelled, or as one market source put it, “put on hold indefinitely,” its Spectra arbitrage synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO). It would have been the first arbitrage synthetic CDO managed by an Asian portfolio manager,…
Tokio Marine launches typhoon derivatives
Japan’s Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance has launched two new products it calls “typhoon derivatives” to hedge against typhoon-related losses in and around Japan.
Sweden’s public pension system makes its first hedge fund investments
The $2.5 billion Seventh Swedish National Pension Fund, or "AP7", which is part of the Swedish national pension fund system, has agreed to allocate $48 million to K2 Advisors, a New York-based hedge fund of funds. K2 says it is the first hedge fund…
Insurers play catch-up
Introduction
BofA names Sandelman head of global equities
Banc of America Securities has named Jon Sandelman its head of global equities, a newly created position. He also becomes a member of the bank’s operating committee.
UBS poaches Taiwan derivatives expert from StanChart
UBS Warburg has hired Payling Lee to join its fixed income and derivatives sales group in Hong Kong as a director.
Transparency drives FX prop trading changes
Foreign exchange proprietary traders are altering their strategies in response to increased price transparency. They are taking risk across more products, referring more to market strategy and turning to FX derivatives for speculative trading, according…
PCX cancels options trading system
The Pacific Exchange (PCX) last week cancelled plans to use a screen-based options trading system designed by Computershare because of regulatory and political concerns. It has no plans to replace the system.
Guarded optimism hinges on new tools
Catastrophe bonds
Challenging times for CROs
Chief risk officers
Sweetening the deal
M&A insurance
The risk transfer shell game
Credit derivatives
Managing post-convergence risks in financial conglomerates
Regulatory capital