News
Hedge funds lose their shine
A trader at a German bank in London said the “mental bubble” traders had when considering the merits of joining a hedge fund has burst.
IAS 39 sparks hedging concerns
LONDON – Accounting rule IAS 39 is causing distortions between economic reality and financial reporting, with rules regarding the use of derivatives likely to impede companies.
SG calls time in Montreal
MONTREAL AND TORONTO – Société Générale’s investment banking arm SG CIB has closed its Montreal FX dealing room, the bank confirmed.
FX next big thing for algorithmic trading
LONDON – FX is set to be the most actively traded asset class using algorithms, according to an audience at an event on the subject held last week.
European banks up in third quarter
ZURICH, AMSTERDAM & FRANKFURT – European banks have had a strong third quarter in foreign exchange, with many up substantially over the same period last year.
Currency product ‘growth to continue’
LONDON – Demand for currency-linked structured products is set to continue into next year, according to market participants who have already posted strong sales this year.
Refco’s demise aids competitors
LONDON – The black cloud of Refco’s demise is proving a valuable silver lining for other players in the field.
BNP to target real-money sales in 2006
LONDON – BNP Paribas is to invest heavily in the real-money space early next year, as it looks to gain traction in an area where the bank has so far had limited presence.
Changes to Travelex board
LONDON – Foreign exchange specialist Travelex has announced changes to its board, with the appointment of a new executive chairman, group chief executive and chief financial officer.
Trading places
BMo in capital markets rejigBank of Montreal (BMo) in Toronto has undergone a major restructure in capital markets at senior level following the retirement of its head, David Hyma.
Value strategies decline in October
LONDON – Currency managers using value strategies are likely to have had a weak month in October according to results of a naive currency management simulation by ABN Amro.
Chaos and depreciation as Zimbabweforex trading system introduced
HARARE – The introduction of a more liberal and transparent forex market in Zimbabwe saw a three-fold drop in the value of the country’s currency and suspension of trading.
SG CIB to white-label FX portal
LONDON – SG CIB is looking to boost the use of its single-bank portal with a series of white-label arrangements with banks it owns.
EBS hits the pause button
LONDON – EBS has stopped new customers going live on its platforms until early December as it faces a surge in demand for its services.
Further liberalisation of yuan trade by Hong Kong and China
HONG KONG – Further flexibility in China’s currency regime is to be introduced, with details being given last week of liberalisation of trade with the Special Administrative Region.
EBS hits the pause button
LONDON – EBS has stopped new customers going live on its platforms until early December as it faces a surge in demand for its services.
Asian authorities relax FX controls
SHANGHAI & HANOI – Government authorities in China and Vietnam have taken further steps towards liberalising the capital account, with a series of relaxations introduced in recent weeks.
EBS signs second largest Chinese bank
BEIJING – EBS has made further inroads into the Chinese market by signing on China Construction Bank (CCB), the second largest state-owned bank in the country.
RTFX signs BarCap and Deutsche Bank
HONG KONG – Reuters has signed up Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank as liquidity providers on its Reuters Trading for Foreign Exchange (RTFX) platform, it announced at the Asian launch of the service last week.
Russell signs up with Lava
TACOMA, WASHINGTON – Asset manager Russell Investment Group is pushing ahead with the expansion of its FX trading capabilities by signing on to a second electronic currency network.