Foreign exchange
Yen rise triggers PRDC hedging
TOKYO - The sharp appreciation of the yen in March has left dealers jostling to hedge exposures to power-reverse dual currency notes (PRDCs) and other similar structured products.
Siena Gateway gets Fix adaptor
LONDON - Eurobase last week (April 4) launched a Fix adaptor for its e-trading connectivity product, Siena Gateway.
Caplin wins three new clients
LONDON - London-based web technology vendor Caplin Systems has gained three new clients for its multi-product web-based client connectivity platform, Caplin Trader, said an official at the company.
Icap grows in Middle East
BAHRAIN - Interdealer broker Icap is expanding its footprint in the Middle East by adding the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) as an EBS Prime customer.
Small retail FX firms face extinction
Felix Shipkevich, general counsel, and Anna Vidiaev, staff attorney, at online foreign exchange trading company Capital Market Services in New York say a proposed rise in capital requirements for retail brokers will result in an anticompetitive market
Handelsbanken shuts down New York desk
NEW YORK - Handelsbanken Capital Markets is closing down its New York FX proprietary trading operation and concentrating this activity in Stockholm, where it is based, as part of a move to reduce earnings volatility.
US trading revenues plummet in 2007
NEW YORK - US commercial banks recorded $5.5 billion in trading revenues in 2007, down $13.3 billion from the record of $18.8 billion set in 2006, according to a report published by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last week (April 2).
Can the buy side deliver on prices?
This Wednesday FX Week is hosting its second annual FX Invest USA congress at the Mid-America Club in Chicago. The event follows the successful launch last year of this series of conferences, which act as a forum to discuss issues facing the industry…
Gambling on stability
The dollar's downward slide against the euro can't continue. Neil Mellor, currency strategist at The Bank of New York Mellon in London, suggests a trade to take advantage of an expected period of stability in the EUR/USD
BoA and Deutsche shake-up e-FX
NEW YORK - Bank of America (BoA) and Deutsche Bank have realigned the senior management of their electronic foreign exchange businesses, and have seen senior departures from the banks in New York and London.
SocGen reshuffles FICC
LONDON & PARIS - Société Générale restructured its fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) division last week (April 3).
UBS loses euro options head to Goldman Sachs
LONDON - Goldman Sachs is said to have hired Amol Devani, former European head of foreign exchange options at UBS, in London.
Dresdner enhances risk appetite tool
LONDON - Dresdner Kleinwort has enhanced its proprietary multi-asset class risk appetite measurement tool, ARPI (aggregate risk perception index), ahead of a strong global push later this year.
FXMS enters CLS market
LONDON - FXMarketSpace (FXMS) has launched an alternative system for settling foreign exchange trades over the platform, in an effort to tackle risks and costs associated with settling trades from high frequency traders.
HSBC promotes Gupta
SINGAPORE - HSBC has promoted Amit Gupta to head of global markets in Singapore, with effect from April 1. He was previously head of sales for global markets and succeeds John McGowan, who will retire in June.
Banks continue to target retail forex
SALT LAKE CITY - Two major banks have made moves to benefit from the burgeoning retail foreign exchange market.
Goldberg departs BNP Paribas
NEW YORK - Andrew Goldberg, New York head of foreign exchange trading, left the bank last week.
Citi in e-FX shake-up
LONDON & SINGAPORE - Citi has restructured senior management of its electronic foreign exchange business, while also announcing the retirement of Gavin Wells, London-based head of FX e-commerce, from the bank this month.
CMC Markets launches TWI-based CFD currency indexes
LONDON - CMC Markets is launching 10 contract for difference (CFD) currency indexes based on the trade-weighted indexes (TWI) of central banks.
Voting for e-FX Awards now under way
The starting pistol for this year's e-FX Awards has been fired, with companies invited to submit their pitches in the 13 categories.
Ex-EBS trio develops new distance latency product
NEW YORK - Market Factory, a company formed by three former senior EBS figures, is developing a software product that could potentially be sold back to their former employer.
Oiling the FX wheels
The Royal Bank of Canada is offering capital protection with a new FX-linked product that is based on currencies from six countries, including two of the world's biggest oil producers
Forex is surviving the credit crunch
The Fed-backed sale of Bear Stearns to JP Morgan has sharpened focus on counterparty risk, with Lehman Brothers as the main target. Although the bank allayed concerns with better-than-expected results, the general crisis of confidence still remains.