News
Stockie weakness despite economic strength
STOCKHOLM – For a currency with such strong economic fundamentals, the Swedish krona has seen surprising weakness this year, as many in the market have discovered to their cost.
Wilkinson kicks off Travelex TV campaign
LONDON – Foreign exchange specialist Travelex has signed England rugby international and world cup 2003 winner Jonny Wilkinson as a brand ambassador.
Reuters showcasing latest additions
STOCKHOLM – Reuters will be exhibiting its expanded electronic trading portfolio, including the impending Reuters trading for foreign exchange, at the congress.
Interbank FX trading takes off in China
SHANGHAI – China Foreign Exchange Trading System (CFETS) opened its interbank FX trading business last week, leading to speculation that a shift in currency policy may be imminent.
Reuters bids farewell to Fleet Street
LONDON – Reuters, the global information provider, is ending its longstanding relationship with Fleet Street by completing a move to new headquarters in London's Canary Wharf.
HSBC embarks on radical tech revamp
LONDON – HSBC is radically overhauling its trading technology infrastructure to create a truly cross-asset class messaging platform to support its electronic trading operations globally.
Changes at ABN Amro
AMSTERDAM – ABN Amro has made a number of changes to the senior management of its FX team and is restructuring its Asian operations.
Traders lured by hedge funds
LONDON – Banks are finding it hard to hold on to top-quality sales and trading staff as the exodus to hedge funds has gathered pace.
SuperD launches reval product
NEW YORK – Pricing systems vendor SuperDerivatives has expanded its suite of services with the launch of a revaluation service.
RBS increases sales force
LONDON AND MADRID – Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has made two new appointments in London and Madrid as it continues to build up its European sales presence.
JP Morgan loses two in London
LONDON – JP Morgan Chase has lost another two members of staff from its London office. Tracey Rodriguez has resigned from her role as a senior salesperson, covering interest rate products and reporting to desk head Sikander Ilyas.
Westpac building global presence
SYDNEY AND LONDON – Westpac has made an addition to its FX desk and relocated two staff to its London office as it continues to build its global FX presence.
Prime brokerage threatening banks
LONDON – Banks are charging far too little for prime brokerage to be profitable, according to market players.
Technology forcing change in forex staff skills set
LONDON – The rapid pace of technological change is leading to a ‘paradigm shift’ in how foreign exchange staff are employed, according to Ray McKenzie, director of forex products at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
eSpeed’s FX platform gets a makeover
NEW YORK – Electronic broker eSpeed is rolling out an improved forex trading platform to all its users over the next two months.
Chinese whispers cause confusion
BEIJING – Currency markets were thrown into disarray last Wednesday following an inaccurate news report by a Communist-party-backed news agency claiming China would allow the yuan to appreciate.
Marketmaker launches in HK
HONG KONG – Online forex service provider CMC Group has moved into Hong Kong with the roll-out of its internet-based Marketmaker platform.
BNP completes FX changes
PARIS – BNP Paribas has restructured its FX desk, following on from the wider changes made during the fixed-income reorganisation earlier this year ( FX Week , January 24).
Prime brokerage threatening banks
LONDON – Banks are charging far too little for prime brokerage to be profitable, according to market players.
Dollar hits European banks
ZURICH – The dollar’s correction at the beginning of the year hit European banks, which posted a mixed bag of results in forex last week.