Trading
UK banks profit on volatility
LONDON -- Active and volatile currency markets helped UK banks to increase profits from foreign exchange dealing, according to interim results announced last week.
Time to sell dollars with bonds
With global demand for savings rising, minimal growth in the savings pool, and shifts in notions of sovereign risk for debtor countries such as the US, it is time to sell dollars, says David Gilmore, partner at FX Analytics in Essex, Connecticut
Participating in rupee options
Following the launch of rupee options trading in India in July, Arun Khurana, head of financial markets distribution & derivatives marketing at ABN Amro in Mumbai, proposes a zero-cost 'participating forward' solution for an Indian client wanting to…
Bomb fails to blast rupiah
JAKARTA -- Last week's bomb blast outside a hotel in Jakarta will have a minimal long-term impact on the Indonesian rupiah, say local market participants.
HSBC issues remittances challenge to Citi
LONDON -- HSBC last week issued a challenge to Citigroup by declaring its intention to target the $10 billion a year US/Mexican remittances market.
CLS to include Korean won
NEW YORK -- CLS Bank, which operates the continuous-linked settlement service for FX, will today announce its plans to include the Korean won as a CLS-eligible currency.
Amex Bank results jump
American Express Bank last week reported year-on-year growth of 30% in revenues from FX trading for the first half of 2003.
PaR signals return of FX risk specialists
LONDON -- Growing interest from hedge funds in banks’ FX services have been a marked feature of the markets in the past 18 months. But that relationship can work both ways, reports one new currency fund, which has seen a wave of interest from banks…
Banks win a partial reprieve from IAS 39
BRUSSELS -- The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has approved an amendment to rules for macro hedging under the upcoming IAS 39 accounting standard for European banks.
Resetting forward solution for Korean exporters
Gail Sheridan, financial engineer at UBS in Singapore, offers a hedging solution for Korean companies looking to guard their US dollar revenues against the possibility of a strengthening won
Lehman Brothers continues forex hiring drive in London
LONDON -- Lehman Brothers has hired nine forex staff in London in the past three months as part of its continued FX build-up. Two more -- including global head of FX Grant Whiteside -- have transferred to the City from New York, as the bank pursues a …
Deutsche says FX strong in H1
FRANKFURT -- Deutsche Bank last week said it had "very strong" FX trading results for the first six months of the year, reflecting the bank’s overall interim results. Jim Turley, global head of foreign exchange at Deutsche Bank in London said: "Client…
PaR signals return of FX risk specialists
LONDON -- Growing interest from hedge funds in banks’ FX services have been a marked feature of the markets in the past 18 months. But that relationship can work both ways, reports one new currency fund, which has seen a wave of interest from banks…
Baht appreciation to slow on central bank reforms
BANGKOK -- The decision by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) in late July to loosen FX restrictions should slow the Thai baht’s appreciation, say local market participants. But strong economic fundamentals in Thailand mean that appreciation is unlikely to…
Dollar decline likely to be over for now
Strong US data and stock market resilience point to a halt in the dollar’s decline, says Jesper Dannesboe, chief FX strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in London
Online retail forex in Asia set to grow
TOKYO -- Online retail FX business in Asia is set to grow, as dealers increasingly move into the sector, market participants in the region told FX Week .
Reuters’ forex growth eases dip in treasury
LONDON -- Technology and information firm Reuters’ results last week showed a fall in treasury revenues for the first six months of 2003, but an increase in FX activity brought some gains.
Uncertainty eases for AIG Trading
GREENWICH, CT -- The tension surrounding the upcoming merger of AIG Trading and AIG Financial Products has eased following the release of an internal statement earlier this month, a source at the firm told FX Week .
Basel may advise banks on outsourcing
BASEL -- The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision may investigate the risks associated with outsourcing trading systems to third parties, a senior Bank for International Settlement (BIS) official told FX Week .
Mitigating euro/krona uncertainty
FX quantitative strategist Giovanni Pillitteri and corporate risk structurer Bertrand Nortier at Deutsche Bank in London present a solution for a Swedish client to monetise flow uncertainty and participate in case of the Swedish krona weakening
Won worries for Korea
SEOUL -- The Korean won could be weakened in the medium term by the slowing of South Korea’s economy and government policy failing to tackle a slump in consumer spending, says a recent report by Barclays Capital.