Technology
Deciding on a future
A handful of companies are exploring how markets can improve decision-making, while academics are using futures trading to predict influenza outbreaks. Prediction markets have come a long way since the collapse of a controversial Pentagon-funded project…
Caruana to end stint as Basel Committee chairman
Jaime Caruana will step down as chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in July, when his six-year tenure as head of the Spanish central bank expires. A Bank for International Settlements (BIS official says the Committee plans to discuss…
Bloomberg and six banks in IR trading joint venture
Six international banks and financial information provider Bloomberg have launched a joint venture company to operate an online interest rate derivative trading platform.
BarCap survey shows options e-commerce still lags behind
A Barclays Capital survey of its corporate customers has found that electronic trading of foreign exchange options is lagging behind, as the market attempts to shift trading from voice brokerage to e-commerce systems.
CalPERS picks AlphaEngine for currency group
CalPERS, the largest pension fund in the US, has picked Mcube's AlphaEngine software to support its currency investment team.
MiFID support high, despite the costs
In the first of a new series of articles surveys exploring in more detail the inner workings of the op risk and compliance disciplines, Georgina Kenyon examines the results of a recent survey into the controversial MiFID directive
A case for convergence?
With Basel II regulatory capital becoming increasingly more risk-sensitive, the value of a separate economic capital system must be questioned. Christopher Hall of Risk Advisors considers the differences between economic capital and regulatory capital,…
Business continuity in financial services firms
We were reminded in 2005 that significant business disruptions continue to occur in varying forms and levels of intensity. The London bombings of July 7, the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the late summer and the New York City…
The benefits and limitations of managed accounts
academic paper
Room for growth: hedge funds in the Asian milieu
regional focus: Asia
Know your market
Profile
In defence of Gazprom
The Russian gas giant's recent price dispute with Ukraine has not given it the best start to the year, but the cat calls of political bullying are not deterring Gazprom's European customers, writes Oliver Holtaway
Correlation - The energy price factor
Navneet Arora provides empirical evidence that significant correlations exist between the movements of commodity prices and the credit quality of firms in the energy sector
At the flick of a switch
Jesper Andreasen and Martin Dahlgren present a regime-switching model for electricity derivatives that incorporates spiky spot-price dynamics and allows for closed-form pricing of forwards, options and swaptions
Market graphic - The argument for short mezz/long index
Anticipating a sharp correction to spreads over the next few years, Andrew Feldstein, senior portfolio manager at BlueMountain Capital Management, puts forward a case for a short mezzanine tranche/long index position
GFI group - The 'dequity' house
Debt and equity arbitrage is a hot topic at the moment and inter-dealer broker GFI believes it has established a head start in this area by merging its debt and equity brokerage and data businesses. Saskia Scholtes talked to three senior executives from…