Liability Management
Ex-Lehman staff form action group
LONDON - A group of around 30 former Lehman Brothers employees in London have formed an action group seeking to win compensation from the collapsed US investment bank.
Sentimental value
Naomi Fink, Japan strategist in global markets sales and trading at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ in Tokyo, assesses the slump in corporate sentiment in Japan, and what this bodes for the country's economic growth
Forex hedging up in US
NEW YORK - Foreign exchange hedging ratios for 2009 year-end by US corporates reached historic levels in the third quarter, as companies sought to cover rising risk from the US dollar's upturn.
Solutions to rouble trouble
The rouble derivatives market developed in haste after further liberalisation of the currency in July 2006 and positive changes to the Russian Civil Code 1062, centring around the previous treatment of derivatives as gaming, in January 2007.
Time for a rethink
The weak dollar and high implied volatility in currency markets has claimed a number of victims in the corporate sector. Dealers discuss the shift in clients' hedging strategies. By Gail Mwamba
Small US banks free to use standardised approach
WASHINGTON, DC - The Federal Reserve has announced it will permit smaller US financial institutions to implement the standardised approach for Basel II compliance, acknowledging misgivings raised by banks over previous proposals.
Corporates wary of forex e-trading
NEW YORK – Corporates have been avoiding the use of electronic platforms in the execution of their foreign exchange trades, with most showing a preference for traditional voice trading.
US lets China off the hook
WASHINGTON, DC - The US Treasury has cleared China of manipulating its currency to gain unfair trade advantages against the US.
Asian SWFs increase global share
LONDON - Asian sovereign wealth funds (SWF) are growing at a faster rate than their Middle Eastern counterparts, due to larger balance of payment surpluses, according to a report by the private sector industry body International Financial Services London…
UBS wins A&L's options outsourcing
LEICESTER - Alliance & Leicester (A&L) has contracted UBS to provide foreign exchange options technology to the UK bank.
CLS launches NDF settlement
LONDON - ABN Amro, Credit Suisse, Fortis, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland became the first settlement banks to go live with non-deliverable for-wards settlement over settlement system CLS last week.
E-trading comes in many flavours
The future of electronic trading is mapped out by Nick Dyne , chief executive of London-based data management and STP systems vendor Logicscope
Extending forex market reach
There is great scope for further integration between FX and interest rate swap markets, says Philip Whitehurst of independent developer MID Analytics in London
When volatile waters grow calmer
How should one prepare for a return to more normal levels of volatility? Neil Mellor , currency strategist at The Bank of New York in London, evaluates expectations for record lows.
Pension funds at risk from currency fluctuations
LONDON – UK institutional investors are overexposed to carry trades and currency risk in their portfolios, according to research released last week. The rise in currency risk comes from greater exposure to international equity markets.
Tullett Prebon launches multi-asset market data service
LONDON – Tullett Prebon Information, the market data division of interdealer broker Tullett Prebon, last week launched its market data service, Mark2Marker.
How to play gravity-defying USD/JPY
Peter Luxton, Global Markets Adviser and Shant Movsesian, Senior Options Analyst at Informa Global Markets advise taking dollar bulls into account when trading on potential weakness
Managing exposure to forex volatility
Manuel Deijk in the structured FX team at UBS looks at a selection of quantitative methods applied in the implementation of FX risk management policies
Downward move for greenback is inevitable, says EPI's Bernstein
NEW YORK – US economic instability, lack of household saving and demand for dollars from Asia are just some of the reasons the greenback will continue to face an uncertain future.
Diversifying through Africa
African basket options are a good vehicle for picking up yield and diversifying away risk, says Marios Maratheftis , FX strategist at Standard Charterd Bank in London
Heading for the final USD selling opportunity
Hans-Guenther Redeker, global head of FX strategy at BNP Paribas in London, suggests a way to take advantage of the prospect of near-term dollar strength to protect against the likelihood of longer-term USD weakness.