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Strongest year ever for forex
NEW YORK and CHICAGO – December was yet another record month for foreign exchange as platforms and exchanges posted their highest ever volumes, making 2004 the strongest ever year for the asset class.
Review of 2004 - November: Forex liquidity crisis looms
LONDON – UBS, Deutsche Bank and Barclays Capital warned of a potential liquidity crisis in foreign exchange at the FX Week 2004 Congress.
Banks lose on FX in fourth quarter
NEW YORK – Two North American banks reported fourth-quarter drops in profit in forex last month.
Review of 2004 - December: Deutsche cuts global forex
FRANKFURT & SINGAPORE – Deutsche Bank was in the process of a major restructuring of its foreign exchange capabilities globally.
Review of 2004 - September: Reuters widens FX access
LONDON – Reuters announced that fund managers, corporates and mid-tier banks would soon get access to the firm’s interbank FX rates for the first time. The firm announced it would take spot dealing prices from its Matching service, used by 7,000 users at…
Review of 2004 - October: Shock job losses at Tullett
LONDON – Tullett Liberty suffered a surprise defeat in the integration of its forex business with rival Prebon Yamane. Broking sources in London said Tullett’s FX forwards team left in the two weeks following the completion of parent Collins Stewart…
Review of 2004 - February: RBS and Deutsche lead the way
FRANKFURT AND LONDON – February was a good month for Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Deutsche Bank with both reporting figures showing that they were gaining on their rivals.
Euro gains status as reserve
FRANFURT – Buying by some of Eastern Europe’s and Africa’s central banks is buoying the euro as the central bankers come to the realisation the currency is here to stay, according to a leading forex fund manager.
Review of 2004 - January: NAB saga starts in earnest
MELBOURNE – The saga of National Australia Bank’s rogue trading scandal came to light on January 13. The bank said it had uncovered losses of up to A$180 million (US$140 million) from unauthorised trading in forex options during the fourth quarter.
Asian currencies resilient
HONG KONG – Asia’s currencies have proved resilient after the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami disaster that struck the region last week, said analysts.
Review of 2004 - July: AIB repays E26m for overcharging
DUBLIN – Allied Irish Banks (AIB) said it would repay the e26 million ($32 million) it overcharged clients on 3 million FX deals, after a regulator slammed the bank in a report in July.
IFX goes gaming
LONDON – IFX Markets, the financial trading and spread-betting firm, in December acquired a majority stake in FX Player, a virtual reality forex gaming business.
Banks' 'indifference' to IAS 39 hints at software panic-buying
LONDON -- Software vendors are preparing to take advantage of any bank glitches once the IAS 39 accounting standard is implemented on January 1.
The American double-accrual forward
With expected further euro appreciation, EUR/USD forwards are trading at a premium. Here, Anna Leung, head of corporate treasury marketing at HSBC, shows a way to get access to future hedging at a lower cost
Deutsche cuts global forex
FRANKFURT & SINGAPORE -- Deutsche Bank is understood to be in the process of a major restructuring of its foreign exchange capabilities around the world.
NAB annual results sees FX slip into the red
MELBOURNE -- National Australia Bank recorded a loss in its forex business and a fall in income from forex derivatives trading, in its full-year results released this month.
Refco relaunches e-platform
NEW YORK -- Refco Group, the New York-based brokerage, has updated its e-FX trading platform.
Dresdner joins cutting queue
FRANKFURT/NEW YORK – The future for FX staff at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) looks bleak as the bank makes major job cuts on a global scale.
CLS below half of FX activity
LONDON – CLS lacks traction outside the major banks and still accounts for far less than half of all FX transactions, according to a report by the Bank of England published this week.
Conservative approach to further dollar weakness
A one-year 'leveraged ratchet forward' may help hedgers looking for a conservative strategy who are expecting a lower EUR/USD next year, say Eric Ohayon, European head of FX structuring, and Chris Weiss, FX structurer, at Bank of America in London