News
JP Morgan launches Bloomberg IR options
LONDON – JP Morgan has begun trad- ing over-the-counter interest rate options on Bloomberg's multi-dealer trading platform.
FXall volumes surged 45% in 2006 on growing market
LONDON – Trading volumes on multibank platform FXall surged 45% in 2006, with over $9.8 trillion traded on a single-count basis.
Oregon state, CFTC fines Orion founder
OREGON – The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the District Court of Oregon have fined Russell Cline, founder of foreign currency trading firm, Orion International $33 million.
India pledges to pursue a less restrictive FX strategy
MUMBAI & HONG KONG – Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh issued a statement last week, confirming the country's commitment to gradually move towards a less restrictive forex regime.
Former IFX FX chief set to join Hotspot
LONDON – Kevin Gillespie, former head of foreign exchange at IFX Markets, is to resurface at electronic communications network Hotspot FXi, say market sources.
E-commerce and algo trading to drive recruitment this year
LONDON – Headhunters are predicting that the next 12 months could see a significant amount of staff turnover in the FX market.
Brokerage consolidation is back in the spotlight
PARIS – Consolidation of the broking industry is looming large again, with last week's announcement by Société Générale and Calyon that they were in exclusive talks to merge brokerages Fimat and Calyon Financial.
UBS beefs up its PTS Services post-trade system
NEW YORK – UBS enhanced its post-trade services last month, introducing a number of added capabilities to its post-trade processing portal, PTS Services Portal.
CME posts seventh successive year of continued growth
CHICAGO – The Chicago Mercantile Exchange posted a record year in 2006, making it the seventh consecutive year of continued growth.
China launches benchmark Shibor rate
SHANGHAI – China has taken further steps towards developing its interest rates derivatives market, with the launch of the Shanghai interbank offered rate (Shibor) last Thursday (January 4).
StanChart restructures institutional sales team
LONDON – Standard Chartered has implemented a new structure for institutional sales in London, following the departure of Tara Hunt, head of global investor sales in October last year.
Algo trading goes mainstream
COPENHAGEN – Saxo Bank is bringing algorithmic trading into the mainstream with plans to launch an algo trading tool for retail investors this quarter.
Nybot launches peso and real FX futures to support coffee traders
NEW YORK – The New York Board of Trade (Nybot) is preparing to launch futures in the Colombian peso and Brazilian real next month.
Traders in Thailand tied up over market reforms
BANGKOK – Reforms by the Bank of Thailand (BoT) on short-term capital inflows introduced last month are having a "drastic" effect on markets in Bangkok, say traders.
Spotradar from Nostradamus predicts good times ahead
LONDON – Nostradamus, a forex predictions company, is looking to sign a raft of new clients for its Spotradar automated trading system in the next few months.
A flying start to 2007 Currency strategies down in 2006
LONDON – Most currency funds are likely to have ended 2006 nursing losses, with trend followers down around 6%, according to research from ABN Amro.
Top performers will see 20% rise in bonuses
GLOBAL – Top performers at global banks should expect to see bonuses rise by up to 20% this year, according to recruitment consultants in London.
SuperDerivatives upgrades structured products platform
LONDON – SuperDerivatives has released a new version of its interest rate options and structured products platform, SD-IR.
A flying start to 2007
GLOBAL – The year is off to a flying start as currency markets opened with a healthy level of volatility last week, said traders.
ABN Amro cuts 900 jobs across North America
CHICAGO – ABN Amro is to cut 900 jobs in North America this year, which will see its workforce in the region drop by 5%. A spokesman in Chicago said the cuts "will affect almost all areas of the company, in almost all parts of the country". He declined…
Algo trading goes mainstream
COPENHAGEN – Saxo Bank is bringing algorithmic trading into the mainstream with plans to launch an algo trading tool for retail investors this quarter.
Currenex selects TradePVR for FIX connectivity monitoring
Santa Clarita, California – Liquidity aggregator Currenex is using the TradePVR network appliance product from Helium Systems for FIX connectivity monitoring and archiving.
Taiwan quake hits e-trading in Asia
ASIA – Trading over electronic foreign exchange dealing systems was disrupted during Asian hours, after an earthquake hit Taiwan on the night of December 26.