Regulation
Bayer Group's two-year plan pays off
LEVERKUSEN – As the dollar continues its slide versus all major currencies – it has lost 8% of its value against the euro in the past two months and 9% against the Swiss franc – corporates are struggling to readjust their hedging strategies.
Banks review yuan reval forecasts
BEIJING – Some bank analysts have brought forward their expectations of regime change in the Chinese yuan, following the rate hike by the People's Bank of China late last month.
RBS launches IAS 39 kit for corporate clients
The Royal Bank of Scotland launched a web-based IAS 39 Toolkit last week to help clients with the requirements set out by the IAS 39 accounting standard, which comes into force at the start of 2005.
New retail laws spark alarm in Japan
TOKYO – A debate is raging in Tokyo over the impact new retail FX trading laws will have on the developing market.
Funds repatriation bill set to pass
NEW YORK – A bill offering US companies the chance to repatriate overseas earnings at a hugely discounted tax rate is set to be signed into law in the next week – much sooner than previous estimates, said analysts.
SIBOS 2004
CLS rules the roost at Sibos
BIS paints bright future for FX
BASEL – The huge growth in daily turnover in the global foreign exchange market, revealed in the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) triennial FX survey last week, has painted a bright future ahead for forex market participants.
Optimism ahead of latest BIS FX trade figures
BASEL – Banks are bullish about the Bank of International Settlements' (BIS) latest FX trading figures, due out in a survey this week.
Sun Platinum pays $40 million penalty
WASHINGTON – FX trading firm Sun Platinum was last week ordered to pay $40 million in civil penalties and restitution to customers, after a US district court entered a default judgment against the firm.
NAB to re-open options desk
MELBOURNE – National Australia Bank hopes to re-open its currency options desk in the "near-term", said chairman Graham Kraehe last week. However, the bank refused to be drawn on a date, saying it was up to regulator the Australian Prudential Regulation…
Politics fail to dampen hopes for forint
BUDAPEST – The resignation last month of Hungary's prime minister Peter Medgyessy has not led to the trading opportunities that may have been expected from the country's currency, the forint.
Foley to launch Gelber FX desk
CHICAGO – Bank One's former forex options chief Justin Foley is joining Gelber Trading, a division of Chicago-based trading firm Gelber Group, to set up a new FX desk in September.
FX volumes up by a third
LONDON – FX trading volumes are up by nearly a third over the past three years, according to new research from UK consultancy ClientKnowledge.
New hedging policy adds $35m fizz to Fosters
MELBOURNE – Australian brewer Fosters Group added nearly US$35 million to its operating profits after changing its FX policy this year in response to upcoming accounting standard IAS 39.
Commerce FX storms US retail market
BOSTON – Commerce FX, a subsidiary of Boston-based Commerce Bank & Trust, is reaping the rewards of its entrance into the retail margin trading market last year, an official told FX Week .
Return of the voice broker
Cantor Fitzgerald revives voice broking market with spin-off firm. NEW YORK - Cantor Fitzgerald reversed a trend of consolidation in the broking market last week by spinning off a new firm to focus exclusively on voice broking.
HKMA rules out Basel II AMA approach
HONG KONG – Hong Kong's banking regulator, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), will not allow the territory's banks to use the advanced measurement approach (AMA) for measuring operational risk when Basel II is implemented from the end of 2006.
AIB repays e 26m for overcharging
Customers to be repaid as regulator's report details AIB's "failures" DUBLIN – Allied Irish Banks (AIB) said it is repaying e 26 million ($32 million) it overcharged clients on three million FX deals, after a regulator slammed the bank in a report last…
IASB proposes new disclosure standards
LONDON – IASB (the International Accounting Standards Board) last week published proposals to improve disclosures about financial instruments in financial statements.
FXC issues broker points rules
NEW YORK – The Foreign Exchange Committee, a US industry association affiliated to the Federal Reserve, last week issued new guidelines on broker ‘points’ – the issue at the heart of last year’s massive Wall Street forex fraud.
The flight from NAB continues
LONDON – The flood of departures from National Australia Bank (NAB) continued last week as three senior institutional dealers left the bank in London and New York.
US regulator loses retail fraud case appeal
CHICAGO – US regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has lost an appeal to assert its jurisdiction over a retail FX trading firm it accused of fraud. Appeal court judges found in the test case of the futures regulator and AlaronFX of…
Euro doubts remain despite EC growth forecasts
LONDON – Economic growth in the eurozone is set to exceed the European Commission’s forecast of 1.7% in 2004, it said in its quarterly report last week – but analysts remain sceptical that this will be enough to sustain the euro’s current rally.