Opinion
Asia's currencies steady under pressure
Callum Henderson, global head of foreign exchange research at Standard Chartered in Singapore, says the Asia play is far from over, despite the recent pullback in the region’s currencies
Euro and sterling – love to loathe
Daragh Maher, foreign exchange strategist at Crédit Agricole in London, discusses the struggle of the euro and sterling in the face of recent political events, and asks which is winning the battle of the battered
China draws on Japan experience
The message was clear at the FX Week China congress in Beijing last Tuesday, China will move on its currency, but at it’s own pace.
Why aren’t the Greeks using CLS?
A lesson learned from the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy was that, at times of stress, CLS plays a central role in ensuring forex traders are protected. It seems surprising then that only one Greek bank is using the settlement system.
Brazil raises intervention stakes
Nick Chamie of Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto reports on Brazil’s stance on intervention, as relayed by its finance minster at the Brazil Summit in April, and predicts how this will affect the real
Euro loses as markets play it safe
Greece continues to dominate the headlines. However, the contagion effect to other eurozone peripherals as well as concerns over Chinese monetary tightening and proposed financial regulatory reforms have been driving financial markets recently –…
Banks widen scope of IT budgets
Speakers at the FX Week webinar, FX technology arms race: the battle for market share, last Tuesday (April 20) covered a wide range of issues facing the industry post-crisis, including regulation, customers' increased demands and post-trade processing.
What the global power shift means for FX
A reoccurring theme prevailing among the buy side is the implications of a shift in power from the developed markets to the emerging economies.
The UK election: Lessons from the past
Pete Luxton, economic adviser at Informa Global Markets in London, looks at past UK elections in an effort to predict the upcoming May 6 election's impact on the sterling
White-labelling: Why re-invent the wheel?
Christian Bock, managing partner of Consulting for Banking and Brokerage Solutions (CBBS) in Zurich, looks at the benefits of using a white-labelled platform and the issues to consider when choosing one
Clearing exemption too close to call
Exempting commercial hedgers from mandatory clearing could create a loophole for the institutional investors often blamed for driving up commodity prices, according to the chief lawyer for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), reports Risk.net.
Morgan Stanley plays the Japan card
Morgan Stanley’s FX prime brokerage business has gained a strategic advantage in the Japanese market through a new partnership with Japanese heavyweight Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG).
EBS contemplates new direction
Interdealer broker Icap is continuing to evaluate ways to expand its business proposition, perhaps employing the more technology vendor-approach taken by rival platforms Currenex and FXall.
Smaller banks shut out by new regulations
A heavy regulatory burden will have the unintended effect of killing off competition, according to speakers at a conference held in London last week.
Sovereign power
Peter Luxton, global economic adviser at Informa Global Markets in London, looks at how sovereign risk is increasingly playing a role in the currency markets
Buy side resigned to higher pricing
Buy-side traders have emerged as post-crisis neo-realists, with a sense of resignation, and some scarring, in the tone of speakers at the FX Invest Europe congress in Zurich last Tuesday (March 9).
Sentiment sours on dollar and sterling
John Kyriakopoulos, head of currency strategy in Sydney, Nick Parsons, head of markets strategy in London, and Gavin Friend, markets strategist in London at National Australia Bank, are pessimistic about the US dollar’s prospects for the rest of the year…
A market for relationship managers
Relationship management has never played a stronger role in winning business - and support - than over the past year. Those dealers that have the best relationship managers seem to be rewarded with client wins, even if they aren't quite operationally…
Fiscal policy could prove fatal for sterling
George Magnus, senior economic adviser, and Mansoor Mohi-uddin, chief currency strategist at UBS in London and Singapore respectively, join the UK policy debate
Post-crisis shakeout will reveal new leaders
After any crisis there is change. But the rate of change in the foreign exchange market means this industry is undergoing a dramatic shift in structure and make-up that will result in, for better or worse, different leaders in the market.
USD in the long run
Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York,steps back from the markets to take a look at the bigger picture
Slow but steady
Naomi Fink, Japan strategist in global markets sales and trading at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, thinks Japan is on the road to recovery
Trial by Greek fire
Peter Luxton, global economic adviser at Informa Global Markets in London, assesses Greece's debt crisis and its impact on the euro.
A response to Obama's reform plan
Details are being eagerly awaited for US President Barack Obama's banking reform plans announced last week – chiefly, what they mean for the new prop desks that have set up, and for prime brokerage relationships.