Opinion
Timing a reversal of fortunes for the euro and yen
John Hardy, chief FX strategist at Saxo Bank in London, picks out the shifts in the status quo in the months ahead
Testing euro exit scenarios
London-based think tank Policy Exchange is now judging the entries to the Wolfson Economics Prize, which asked entrants to propose the best way for a country to leave the eurozone. Following the relatively mild impact of Greece’s default earlier this…
Correlation breakdown tells a cautionary tale
John Hardy, chief currency strategist at Saxo Bank in London, discusses his views on the currency markets, sounding a note of caution about the risk rally seen since the start of the year
In the public interest?
British Virgin Islands-based foreign exchange brokerage InterForex received a permanent injunction from the CFTC last month for soliciting business from US clients as an unregistered dealer. But the injunction was not in the public interest of preventing…
The perils of one-size-fits-all
Regulators need to come up with a calibrated approach to calculating collateral requirements for uncleared derivatives, writes Joel Clark
Yield makes a comeback
Two months into 2012, Mitul Kotecha assesses the modest healing process that appears to have taken hold in currency markets after a period of marked risk aversion, and explains why yield is becoming a key factor influencing investor appetite
EMFX: Go with the flow
Imran Ahmad, emerging markets strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland in London, says Hungary, Turkey and India stand to benefit from renewed support for emerging markets in 2012
FX clearing - the opportunity that never was?
Clearing of non-deliverable forwards has yet to get off the ground, despite clearers having switched their focus to the product during the course of last year
AUDIO: Heading into the perfect storm
Nick Beecroft, senior markets consultant at Saxo Bank in London, takes a critical look at the year ahead and says markets could be heading for the perfect storm.
The secret weapons of e-commerce
Banks don't have long left to finalise and implement changes to their single-dealer FX platforms
Strategic currency hedging in emerging markets
When hedging currency markets, one should treat developed and emerging markets separately, as their behaviour can vary significantly, argues Edward Murray
Serving clients in the right way sets best banks apart
Winners of this year's Best Banks Awards have won recognition from their clients for providing innovation that meets their challenges in volatile market conditions
Why the consensus is wrong on USD/JPY
RBC Capital Markets has taken a contrarian view on the yen for several years, predicting it would strengthen against the US dollar while the consensus forecast was for yen strength. After the bank’s contrarian view has proved accurate, Adam Cole argues…
Exploring relative value
A rebound in risk assets in late October appears to have been short-lived and the foreign exchange market continues to be affected by lower-then-expected growth and a swinging pendulum between risk-on and risk-off. Callum Henderson argues relative value…
AUDIO: The Enronisation of Europe
Nick Beecroft, senior markets consultant at Saxo Bank, discusses the weaknesses in the EU bailout package, and the broader implications of a Greek referendum on the Eurozone
Analysis paralysis
Ever-increasing foreign exchange volumes, acute volatility in currencies and the imminent arrival of new trading regulations have combined to create an environment in which being able to properly analyse execution costs and quality is more important than…
A tax too far?
The European Commission's recent proposal to impose a financial transaction tax from 2014 appears to ignore lessons learned in drafting other recent regulations
Fighting a losing battle on yen strength
Despite repeated intervention by the Bank of Japan over the past year, the yen remains stronger than ever, with USD/JPY struggling to break above 77. Derek Halpenny analyses the three episodes of intervention and related data to explain why intervention…
AUDIO: Welcome to Crisis 2.0
With all proxies for risk appetite at or below summer 2010, a third round of quantitative easing is inevitable, says Saxo Bank
Dispelling the myths of HFT
Central bankers can no longer ignore the impact of high-frequency trading on the FX market
No more lifelines for Greece
Following a chaotic series of last-ditch efforts by political leaders to put together a solution to the troubles in the eurozone, Nick Beecroft believes the only viable option left is to transfer cash from the core of Europe to the periphery, through the…
The rise and rise of retail FX
Questions were raised in July when the Bank of England’s FX joint standing committee revealed a jaw-dropping 23% increase in UK turnover between October 2010 and April 2011. Among a number of drivers contributing to the increase, the most notable is the…
AUDIO: Get ready for crisis 2.0
Nick Beecroft, senior markets consultant at Saxo Bank in London, warns that financial markets are at the brink of crisis 2.0.
Trading like it’s 2008
Foreign exchange markets in 2011 continue to show parallels to 2008, but the economy is unlikely to slip back into recession and Asian currencies look set to benefit from broad-based US dollar selling. Callum Henderson looks at the key similarities…