Hedging
Energy structured deals: dynamic vs quasi-static hedging
Traditional pricing and hedging approaches often fail to work properly for complex energy structures due to market incompleteness, liquidity problems or unusual price dynamics. In this article, Stefano Fiorenzani suggests some specific adjustments that…
Interview: Mexico's hedging plans: in crude health
Pauline McCallion speaks to Gerardo Rodriguez, deputy undersecretary for public debt at Mexico’s Ministry of Finance & Public Credit, about the government’s highly successful oil price hedging strategy
Mexico sees return to normality for oil hedging
Banks’ ability to act as a counterparty is “back to a very normal situation” after the credit crunch, according to one of the designers of Mexico’s oil price hedging programme.
Deals of the Year: Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse structures a crack-spread hedge for Alon USA refinery.
Mexico hedges oil price at $57 in 2010
The government of Mexico has hedged much of its 2010 oil exports at $57 per barrel following the successful completion of its 2009 hedging programme, which generated gross revenues of $5 billion.
The index artists
The past 12 months have posed a new set of challenges for the indexing and exchange-traded fund markets. But as delegates to the Art of Indexing Summit USA in New York heard on October 28, providers are adapting to the changed landscape. Now it is simply…
Knock-on FX
Many banks are now including a credit charge in swap and forward transactions, while increased volatility has upped the cost of options. At the same time, the financial crisis has sparked a suspicion of complex products. How are corporate hedgers and…
A market model on the iTraxx
A market model for the dynamics of credit-risky baskets and indexes such as the iTraxx has long been sought, but because of difficulties with the natural numéraire has remained elusive. Here, Philippe Carpentier proposes using hedging arguments to…
Corporate statement: Are you re-evaluating your energy risk management provider?
Many energy-price-dependent organisations, such as utilities, independent power producers and oil and gas producers, saw their hedges at risk with the crumbling balance sheets of several key hedge providers. The global credit crisis has forced many…
Market focus: derivatives - Risky business
Companies that are heavy consumers of energy are particularly susceptible to market volatility. For such end-users, proper use of risk management techniques can mean make or break, says Eric Fishhaut of GlobalView
A sense of déjà vu
Letter to the editor
Cutting hedges
Buoyed by a strong local currency and surging commodities prices in recent years, many Russian corporates eschewed derivatives to hedge risks. But with both the rouble and commodity prices plummeting in recent months, it may be time for a rethink…
Information asymmetry
Editor's letter
Safe haven
Gold has been a favourite with investors looking for a safe haven since last year’s turbulence began. But will this persist in 2009, or will the precious metal start to lose its shine as a hedging option? Pauline McCallion finds out
Sovereign hedging lessons
The big oil-hedging losses at Sri Lankan state-owned refiner Ceylon Petroleum Corporation provide another salutary lesson in the proper use of derivatives. Is the situation reflective of state-owned energy companies as a group? By Joe Marsh
Hedging the hard way
Quanto options have stung dealers' equity derivatives books after the unexpected spikes in volatility and correlation that followed the Lehman Brothers collapse, while structured product issuers have been hit by plummeting dividend expectations and…
Struck off
Credit default swaps (CDSs) offer protection against issuer default, and in general the protection is paid via a running spread rather than upfront. When the par spread changes, the contract cannot be unwound without leaving a default-contingent annuity…
Hedging in a spin
Editor's letter
Paying the dollar price
Corporates