Opinion
Businesses must move with the times
Fear of the unknown often prevents businesses from achieving their potential.
Hedging ahead of takeover activity
Stephane Knauf, Global Head of FX Structuring at Citigroup in New York, proposes deal-contingent forwards and options to hedge risks ahead of a potential cross-border acquisition
London lords it over continental rivals
London remains the heart and soul of the foreign exchange industry, with its position as the global financial capital of the world confirmed by a report published by International Financial Services, a London-based research firm.
Headwinds are set to hinder the rand
Razia Khan, senior economist at Standard Chartered in London says the fundamentals for the rand are not supportive despite a recent rally
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
You can judge a book by its cover
Market participants of all shapes have access to a bewildering choice of platforms on which they can transact their FX business. There is a huge financial gap between the multi-billion dollar hedge fund and the hobby investor who wants to trade with a…
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
Real strength set to continue
Gray Newman, senior Latin American economist at Morgan Stanley in New York, says that the Brazilian unit will be supported by interest rates and continuing growth
Human touch will always be needed
Markets have been on the move again this week. Comments from retired Fed chairman Alan Greenspan about the US housing market and noise surrounding China's reserve policy ensured that the greenback at last broke through the 1.26–1.28 range that it had…
Decoupling is key to Asian strength
Stephen Jen, head of currency research for Morgan Stanley, and Charles St-Arnaud, acting Asian currency strategist in London, say Asian currencies will strengthen once Asia decouples from the US
CLS: a slow adopter, sticking fast
The move by CLS into China reflects well on the settlement system. The fact that the bank-owned utility spent more than two years diligently negotiating Bank of China’s (BoC) path to becoming a shareholder shows it is genuine about welcoming emerging…
Missing links in Korea and Taiwan
Mirza Baig and James Malcolm, FX researchers at Deutsche Bank in Singapore, examine the relationship between the Korean won’s surplus and changes in the Taiwanese dollar
The underrated value of a quiet market
History shows that times of strife produce the greatest technological innovations. The First World War hastened the use of aircraft as a practical technology rather than a hobby for the wealthy. The Second World War sped mankind’s journey into space and…
Black clouds over the greenback
David Woo, head of global FX strategy at Barclays Capital in London, looks at the threats to the US dollar from Chinese trade and a weak housing market
Currency is the best global indicator
The strife in Thailand and Hungary this week proves how valuable the FX markets can be in offering an insight to those who want to know what is really happening in seemingly disaster-struck economies.
Politics and the pound
There are parallels between Tony Blair’s current situation and the period around Margaret Thatcher’s demise when the pound crashed out of ERM, write Peter Luxton, global markets adviser, and Stuart Bennett, head of European economics at Informa Global…
Old news set to leave China behind
China’s plans to delay the information flow from foreign news agencies by filtering it through Xinhua news agency is worrying, and it is likely to be counterproductive.
Maintain a long Swiss franc exposure
Todd Elmer, currency strategist at Citigroup in New York, predicts an upturn in Swiss franc fortunes, and advises directional trades on EUR/CHF
Reset strike bonus forwards for a Korean win
David Mann, senior FX strategist, and Michael Image, senior FX structurer at Standard Chartered in Hong Kong, suggest reset strike bonus forwards over plain forwards to hedge Korean won downside risks
Hedging sterling/dollar is best option
Despite GBP/USD rising over 10% so far this year, Ian Stannard, senior currency strategist at BNP Paribas in London, says hedging still makes sense
Are you missing out on a prime opportunity?
Prime brokerage is becoming an increasingly important revenue stream for a number of banks.
Make or break for FX diplomacy
James Malcolm and Mirza Baig, FX stategists for Deutsche Bank in Singapore, look at the prospects for Chinese FX policy in light of a new US Treasury Secretary
Time for a kiwi revival
John Horner, FX strategist for Deutsche Bank in Sydney, points to reasons to be positive on the New Zealand dollar
Anonymity does not always equal profitability
FXall has jumped on the anonymity bandwagon, and the Reuters/CME venture offers another way to access liquidity discretely. But whether these ventures will succeed is debatable.