News
Merrill Lynch reshuffles London forex sales structure
LONDON – Merrill Lynch has reorganised its London-based forex sales team, as it shifts away from a regional structure to a client-focused one.
E-trading lifts retail volumes
LONDON – Electronic trading platforms have spurred the growth of retail foreign exchange trading volumes in the global FX market, according to research released last week.
Forex tech spend set to rise 65% in 2010
BOSTON – Expenditure on technologies to support advanced trading strategies for FX trading in North America is expected to rise by around 65% over the next three years, as firms struggle to keep pace with the demands of low-latency trading, according to…
Commodities to become a core asset class, FSA predicts
LONDON – The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) predicts commodities will become a core asset class for all diversified portfolios.
CFTC charges unregulated futures brokers
WASHINGTON DC – The US futures regulator is continuing to battle FX fraud in the country, with charges hitting unregulated FX futures brokers and online retail trading platforms.
Bank of America joins index bandwagon
NEW YORK – Bank of America (BoA) has launched 73 indexes that track the performance of 30 developed and emerging market currencies against the US dollar.
CME sets new volume record
CHICAGO – The volume of FX futures and options traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) reached an all-time high in March, posting a notional value of $80 billion.
Specialist calls for a level forex playing field
CHICAGO – The foreign exchange industry should consider levelling the playing field to reflect the changing dynamics in the market, said Howard Tai, currency and equity derivatives specialist at American Century Investment.
SEB gets China RMB go-ahead
SHANGHAI – SEB Shanghai has received approval from the Chinese foreign exchange regulators to launch a renminbi forex forwards business in the country.
Banks gear up to pursue forex opportunities in India
MUMBAI – Banks are realigning and expanding FX desks in India, in response to the growing business opportunities in the country.
Saab chooses SuperD to enhance pension funds
STOCKHOLM – Swedish defence contractor Saab is using interest rate derivatives data from SuperDerivatives to enhance the performance of its employee pension funds.
Banks warn to stress test
CHICAGO – At last week's FX Invest congress in Chicago, Barclays Capital, Citi and Morgan Stanley warned of the pressures being placed on back-office systems by rising FX volumes.
Deutsche dealt blow in Asia
SINGAPORE – It is understood that Deutsche Bank has lost Jai Rajpal, its global head of Asian currency trading, to Lehman Brothers, in what is being viewed as a huge blow for the bank.
Steady growth on FXMarketSpace
LONDON, CHICAGO & NEW YORK – Reuters and Chicago Mercantile Exchange joint venture platform FXMarketSpace went live last week, with volumes understood to be growing gradually.
Dresdner rebuilds global forex business
LONDON, FRANKFURT & SINGAPORE – Dresdner Kleinwort has rebuilt its foreign exchange business, with 13 new hires.
Forefront Investments faces suit from CFTC
WASHINGTON DC – The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a complaint against Richmond, Virginia-based futures broker Forefront Investments, for failing to hold adequate net capital.
Voting for e-FX Awards is underway
The starting pistol for this year's e-FX Awards has been fired, with companies invited to submit their pitches in the 13 categories.
The need for speed in algorithmic trading
LONDON – By 2017, the 10 top banks will manage 80% of all capital markets by revenue, according to Ralph Silva, senior analyst from Tower Group.
HSBC reshuffles in Asia
HONG KONG, JAKARTA & MUMBAI – HSBC has realigned senior management in Asia, as it bolsters its coverage of the Indian market.
Retail FX platform attracts $100 million from PE firm
SADDLE RIVER, NEW JERSEY – Online trading platform FX Solutions has received more than $100 million from Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity investment firm.
JP Morgan loses three, hires one in forex
NEW YORK & SINGAPORE – JP Morgan has lost three members of its FX team in New York and London.
Deutsche Bank launches currency index
LONDON – Deutsche Bank last week launched an investable currency index that replicates the carry, momentum and valuation strategies in a non-discretionary rule-based product.
Advanced Markets chooses Cognotec's retail FX solution
CHARLOTTE, N. CAROLINA – Forex broker Advanced Markets is going live with Cognotec's retail FX trading platform, RealStream-Margin this quarter.