Trading
Future bright for CE-3
With the Slovak koruna joining the eurozone in January, the Hungarian forint and the Polish zloty are next in line for a convergence rally in 2009, says David Hauner, currency strategist at Bank of America in London
Yen intervention risk rises
TOKYO - Analysts expect the Japanese government to intervene to curb the rapid appreciation in the yen, which reached near-record levels against the US dollar last week.
Forex turnover slumps in Sweden
STOCKHOLM - Turnover slumped 14% in the Swedish foreign exchange markets in November compared with the same month last year, according to the country's central bank.
Risk reversals slowing down
LONDON - Risk reversals on emerging market currencies indicate a reduction in the magnitude of the sell-off compared with that over the past six months, according to Barclays Capital.
Offshore króna market trading thinly
REYKJAVIK - The offshore market in Icelandic króna remained illiquid last week despite a loosening up of capital controls, as liquidity providers stayed out of the market.
Yen rally leaves traders short
TOKYO - The value of retail trading accounts at FXOnline Japan fell by 75% between July and October, as the yen rally caused losses in short yen positions.
Lloyds pulls ahead as growth slows
Expectation of slowing global growth has put Lloyds TSB at the top of FX Week 's 12-month currency forecast rankings this week.
Forex forwards bounce back as year ends
LONDON - Efforts by global central banks to boost interbank trading are reaping returns, with short-dated foreign exchange forwards basis falling sharply last week. But longer-dated tenors remain a concern, say traders.
Strong Q3 for FX derivatives
BASEL - Trading volumes in exchange-traded foreign exchange derivatives grew in the third quarter this year, despite an overall decline in volumes in exchange-traded derivatives, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
Portlock new spot FX chief at WestLB
DUSSELDORF - WestLB appointed Mark Portlock global head of spot foreign exchange last Thursday, following the decision by Dan Jones, head of FX and commodities trading for liquid markets, to leave the bank.
New EUR/ISK domestic pair launches
REYKJAVIK - Thomson Reuters is set to list a new currency pair, EUR/ISK Domestic, on the Spot Matching System in January to support trading between Icelandic banks onshore.
The return of PPP
The rapid fall of currencies against the US dollar is restoring balance to the currency markets, as stability in purchasing power parity (PPP) returns, says Margaret Kempner, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman
Currency strategy success continues
LONDON - The reversal of fortunes for currency managers continued in November, with all but those employing carry strategies generating positive returns, said the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
Futures look bright for Ice
ATLANTA - The Intercontinental-Exchange (Ice) Millions FX futures contracts have traded at an average daily volume of $350 million since launch a month ago, according to the Atlanta-based exchange.
Yuan NDFs set to peak
BEIJING - Chinese renminbi non-deliverable forward (NDF) rates could peak this week, ending the rapid rise seen since the government indicated plans to allow the unit to depreciate at the end of November, according to traders .
Monahan ends six years at Icap
HONG KONG - Mark Monahan, chief executive at Icap's electronic business in the Asia-Pacific region, will leave the firm at the end of the year.
TD Securities gets back to basics
TD Securities has surged to the top of the one-month forecast rankings this week by focusing on the US dollar story in an environment driven by short-term factors.
India to open rupee/dollar futures to FIIs
MUMBAI - The Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) are expected to allow foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to participate in the currency futures market soon, market participants speculate.
China in shock interest rate cut
BEIJING, MUMBAI & BANGKOK - The People's Bank of China shocked markets with an aggressive 108 basis point cut to interest rates last Wednesday (November 26), in its latest move to curb the rapid decline in growth.
A storm in a teacup
Henrik Gullberg, senior foreign exchange strategist at Deutsche Bank in London, says fears over the Swiss franc's status as a safe-haven currency are exaggerated
Sterling plummets as BoE dithers
CMC Markets topped this week's one-month forecast rankings by predicting a weaker sterling based on a perceived delay in interest rates cuts by the Bank of England (BoE).
Traders shift focus to recession
LONDON - Traders are reporting a slowdown in foreign exchange activity and a focus shift towards global recession fears as the market approaches year-end.
More crisis casualties
LONDON - Morgan Stanley, Citi and Deutsche Bank have all announced thousands of global job cuts in response to the market dislocation, with foreign exchange teams unavoidably in the firing line.
Trouble ahead in emerging EMEA
Nick Chamie , head of emerging markets research at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto, analyses the results of the bank's latest Financial Risk Scorecard, and finds there are tough times ahead for the Baltic states