Opinion
Consolidation is the key theme
The theme of consolidation in the brokerage industry continues this year, with Société Générale and Calyon confirming exclusive negotiations to merge their brokerages Fimat and Calyon Financial. But what happened to all that talk about consolidation in…
The USD resurgence may only be temporary
Simon Derrick, head of currency strategy at Bank of New York in London, warns that it may be too soon to be revising those dollar forecasts
Algorithmic trading's new frontier
Happy new year! We're two weeks into 2007 and are already seeing some exciting new developments.
Sterling and the phantom menace – EUR/GBP will rally in 2007
Adrian Hughes, currency strategist at Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking in London, assesses the prospects for sterling in 2007
New Year and new beginnings
This is my final issue of FX Week. After more than two years in the editor's chair, the time has come for me to move on. It's been an interesting and challenging job and one which has taught me a lot about global markets.
The evolution of the market-place
The end of 2006 has brought some welcome relief to FX traders, with volatility rearing its head for the last two months of the year.
Weighing up the alternatives
Jeffrey Lins , Executive Director of Quantitative Analysis at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen, evaluates the pitfalls of using maximum drawdown-based performance measures, and points to recent advances that may help to expand opportunities for investment…
The changing face of liquidity
Paul Ronan and Nicholas Hodder , of technology vendor City Practitioners, consider the impact the increasing prevalence of auto-trading capabilities is likely to have both on banks' efficiency and on spot traders themselves
Quick, look busy! Here comes Mifid
Chip Lowry , senior managing director of State Street Global Link in Europe, looks at what Mifid will mean for the foreign exchange industry
History calls for caution on Kiwi
History suggests we may see one last squeeze higher over Christmas for the kiwi, says Rhiannon Healy, solutions specialist for ANZ in London
The mixed blessings of co-operation
Co-operation in the foreign exchange industry has generally tended to bolster the market.
Voice brokers are adapting to survive
The decision by Icap to move voice-broking staff from the majors to emerging markets shows that the company has realised that the FX landscape is evolving rapidly and is ready to evolve with it. It also demonstrates that the role of the voice broker will…
Preparing for a return to volatility
Persistently low levels of volatility have made it tough to trade the currency markets since late august. Simon Derrick, head of currency strategy at Bank of New York in London, investigates whether the past few months have been anomalous, and how to…
Proportionate regulation is the key
The move by the US and UK regulators to work in closer co-operation can only be a good thing for the market as a whole.
Margin trading – an untapped opportunity
Brian Maccaba , executive chairman of Cognotec, highlights the huge growth in web-based FX margin trading and argues that banks cannot afford to ignore the opportunities that this presents
Complacency leads to a hard landing
Going against consensus view, Sharada Selvanathan , currency strategist at BNP Paribas in Singapore, advises preparing for a hard landing in the US economy
Icap should get the options ball rolling
The FX Week Europe Congress was the biggest and best yet. The brightest star among many was Michael Spencer, chief executive of Icap, who explained his plans to expand his business into electronic FX options.
Staying a step ahead of the pack
Icap's move to shift the emphasis of its voice-broking capabilities to emerging markets is indicative of how the company has achieved its current dominant position as a global force in money broking.
Taking advantage of variance swaps
Loïc Henry, head of structuring at Calyon in Paris, suggests using variance swaps to trade non-directional strategies in an environment of low volatility
M&A flows – the Aussie angle
Sharon Yeshaya, FX strategist at Morgan Stanley in New York looks at the effect the current M&A cycle will have on the Australian dollar
Businesses must move with the times
Fear of the unknown often prevents businesses from achieving their potential.
Hedging ahead of takeover activity
Stephane Knauf, Global Head of FX Structuring at Citigroup in New York, proposes deal-contingent forwards and options to hedge risks ahead of a potential cross-border acquisition
London lords it over continental rivals
London remains the heart and soul of the foreign exchange industry, with its position as the global financial capital of the world confirmed by a report published by International Financial Services, a London-based research firm.