Trading
RBA unwinds Australian dollar holding
SYDNEY -- The Reserve Bank of Australia took profits on its Australian dollar holdings earlier this year, selling nearly A$500 million, according to the bank’s February bulletin.
China forex volumes rise
BEIJING -- Forex turnover in the Chinese market rocketed by 73% in January, according to data made public last week.
Dollar downtrend halts decline in US hedging
NEW YORK -- The US dollar’s decline in recent months has sparked an increase in hedging activity among US companies, six months after senior FX officials reported that many firms were unhedged.
Rusnak lessons still unheeded
NEW YORK -- Global banks are yet to implement key recommendations to limit rogue trading losses, one year on from John Rusnak’s record $700 million forex fraud.
A focus on partnerships
Vision, transparency and communication are key to FX outsourcing partnerships, says Kiril Alexiev, assistant vice-president in Global FX Strategic Alliances at ABN Amro in Chicago
Digital strike combats Korean hedging worries
A local importer in South Korea with upcoming dollar payables would be wise to consider a digital strike forward as tensions increase in North Korea, says Charlie Brown, head of structuring and solutions for global FX options at Standard Chartered Bank…
GFI closes FX options mark-to-market gap
NEW YORK -- Solving the problem of marking FX options to market came a step closer to being resolved last week, with the launch of a new ‘revaluation fixing’ service from New York-based interdealer broker GFI.
Private client demand soars for FX firm
LONDON -- More private clients in the UK buying property in Europe has boosted demand for a new specialist FX firm, a senior official at Seagray Matthews Foreign Exchange (SGM-FX) told FX Week .
Give every DOG its day
The threat of war in Iraq, and the political and financial fallout, has brought dollar weakness. But this narrow focus ignores a more telling relationship across the asset classes -- that of dollar, oil and gold, says Gerald Ashley
Shift in risk sentiment shores up Australian options market
SYDNEY -- A change in risk sentiment, coupled with major underlying spot moves in local currencies, is bringing extra FX options business to Australia, according to local dealers.
Intervention risk looms
LONDON -- As the US prepares to invade Iraq, FX dealers could soon be facing their own battle against central banks.
Hungary: when the funds go marching in
The Hungarian forint’s peg should be scrapped before another speculative attack on the currency, say Marios Maratheftis and David Mann, economists at Standard Chartered Bank in London
Lessons in FX
Rob Carnell, senior international economist at Commonwealth Bank in London, reveals the lessons to be learned from the last 12 months in FX -- but warns that 2002’s peacock could always be this year’s turkey
Goldman's plan pays off
NEW YORK -- Goldman Sachs’ five year investment in foreign exchange is paying off, according to US banks’ financial results published last week.
Dealers prepare for worst from gloomy bonus season
LONDON/NEW YORK -- Bonus payments in FX for 2002 could be slashed by half following a difficult year in forex, traders and recruiters told FX Week .
Chaos in Hungary as forint volatility rockets
BUDAPEST -- The Hungarian central bank was forced to spend around e6 billion after the pegged forint almost broke its trading band last week.
Ports in a storm
Uncertainties surrounding the euro and the dollar mean investors should look further afield to avoid geopolitical risks, says Craig Larimer, managing director, international research group, Banc One Capital Markets in Chicago
Will white labelling stick?
Citigroup’s new white-label service has prompted interest from other banks. But a number of problems must be overcome before they can launch similar products, says James Kemp, London-based managing director of UK technology firm Stentra
Euro wins as North Korea tensions rise
LONDON -- The euro was the biggest beneficiary in the currency markets as tensions in Asia increased over North Korea’s nuclear intention last week.
Dollar in for mixed week
Dollar trends will diverge in the week ahead, says John Normand, global fixed income and FX strategist at JP Morgan in London
Brazilian real firms as Lula calms markets
SAO PAULO -- The Brazilian real has been on a firmer footing so far this year as the market reacts favourably to the new government, headed by president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva [Lula].
Research crucial in battle for investors
LONDON -- Banks are increasingly tailoring forex research for funds clients in response to more currency trading business from that client base.
June - The return of volatility
The return of volatility
2003: year of the euro?
2003 could be a good year for the euro and the yen, but the outlook is not so healthy for the US dollar, says Jesper Dannesboe, chief FX strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in London