Trading
Icap's NDFs trading down but not out
SINGAPORE - Current market volatility is hurting non-deliverable forwards (NDF) trading on Icap's electronic spot-broking system EBS, but the broker is optimistic about the development of this market.
Forex hedging up in US
NEW YORK - Foreign exchange hedging ratios for 2009 year-end by US corporates reached historic levels in the third quarter, as companies sought to cover rising risk from the US dollar's upturn.
Lloyds banks on slow eurozone growth
A bearish view of the euro based on shrinking eurozone growth pushed Lloyds TSB to the top slot of this week's three-month currency forecasts rankings.
OTP in USD/RUB first
MOSCOW - OTP Bank conducted its first USD/RUB trade as a market maker on LavaFX last Monday (September 22), with Dresdner Kleinwort as its prime broker.
JPM offers new FX platform
LONDON - JP Morgan last week launched MorganDirect, a new proprietary foreign exchange trading platform that will eventually replace the incumbent JPex system.
FXPB versus CCP put to the test
With concern over counterparty credit risk at such elevated levels, some question what this will ultimately mean for the smaller banks out in the market-place.
Barclays launches forex trend index
LONDON - Barclays Capital launched the Barclays Adaptive FX Trend Index last week, the latest in its range of investable foreign exchange indexes.
OCBC cashes in on Asian DCR growth
SINGAPORE - OCBC Bank expects to see 20% growth in its dual currency returns (DCR) business in Singapore next year, following implementation of a structured deposit pricing and processing system from FinIQ, said bank officials.
SEB rises as commodities plummet
STOCKHOLM - Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) topped this week's one-month currency forecasts rankings with expectations that falling commodity prices would positively affect the greenback.
Lehman's fall leads to liquidity drought
GLOBAL - Heightened concerns over counterparty credit risk caused a dry-up of liquidity in the currency markets last week, as dealers feared a domino effect from the collapse of Lehman Brothers on Sunday, September 14.
Volatility pushes up prices for short-dated forex options
LONDON - Short-dated foreign exchange option prices have skyrocketed as liquidity in the derivatives market dried up amid turbulent market conditions last week.
Norges holds emergency swap auction
OSLO - The Norwegian central bank stepped in on September 16 to kick-start the local money market with an emergency issue of dollar-krone swaps totaling a notional value of $5 billion.
RealStream Margin introduces forex newsfeeds
LONDON - Cognotec went live with a newsfeed feature on its web-based margin trading system RealStream Margin last month, in response to client demand for market intelligence.
UBS: an FX beacon in a sea of doubt
UBS practically swept the leader board in the currency category of FX Week sister publication Risk 's 2008 interdealer survey released last week.
Uncomfortable truths
Teis Knuthsen, head of FX research at Danske Bank in Copenhagen, looks at the structural changes shaping political and economic realities in our time
Trading US inflation
Irene Aldridge, quantitative portfolio manager and managing partner at model-based trading company Able Alpha Trading in New York, outlines a high-frequency strategy to trade US inflation data
Barclays Asian ETN gains $4.7m
NEW YORK - Barclays received $4.7 million worth of investment into its Asian currency-linked exchange-traded note (ETN) by September 9, five days after launch.
Banks scale back options market-making
GLOBAL - Risk aversion and a sharp rise in foreign exchange options volatility is prompting banks to scale back their market-making activities in foreign exchange options, say traders.
US slowdown prediction puts GFT ahead
GFT Forex has dominated the three-month and 12-month historical indexes for most of this year, by expecting the US slowdown to penetrate global markets.
TFX revamps forex trading
TOKYO - The Tokyo Financial Exchange (TFX) is set to launch a new trading platform for its foreign exchange market, Click 365, on October 27, to support rising volumes as it expands its list of market-makers and products.
Algo FX: the battle for market share
Algorithmic trading in foreign exchange is tipped to experience continued growth, but the uptake is not without its obstacles. Susanna Robinson reports
Yield strategy results hit 15-year low
LONDON - Currency managers using the yield strategy would have suffered their biggest blow in 15 years last month, according to research by the Royal Bank of Scotland.