Regulation
Crackdown on risk budgets
Trader sign-off on revaluing data must end, says industry body NEW YORK -- The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (Prmia) is considering issuing guidelines recommending banks separate their risk management budgets from FX and other…
Bank of Japan intervention set to continue
TOKYO – Japanese authorities spent over $20 billion in the forex markets in Q1 this year, in an effort to ease the yen’s strength against the dollar and the euro.
Intesa bows out of London
LONDON – Banca Intesa, one of the last Italian banks still trading FX in London, closed its desk in April, becoming the latest of its compatriots to consolidate forex in Italy.
US judge dismisses Gain Capital law suit
WARREN, NJ – A lawsuit filed in New York against online forex dealer Gain Capital was dismissed last month.
Market eyes new euro/dollar high
LONDON – A lifetime high for the euro against the dollar became a distinct possibility last week as the greenback continued to crumble across the board.
Market rounds on dollar as US doubts gather
NEW YORK -- The dollar sagged to a four-year low against the euro last week, and fell across the board.
BoA links major and emerging FX forwards in risk strategy drive
LONDON -- Bank of America (BoA) has merged its forwards and emerging markets forwards businesses in London, and hired three forwards traders globally as part of a continued drive to move to a strategic risk management model, a senior official told FX…
Indian market opens up
MUMBAI -- Reform of India’s FX rules could create the next large emerging market, signalling a lucrative new area for banks to exploit.
Plimsoll steps into currency overlay
NEW JERSEY -- Summit, New Jersey-based fund manager Plimsoll Capital is moving into currency overlay, and expects to secure its first clients this quarter, a senior official told FX Week .
US banks revisit specialist sales
NEW YORK -- JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America are among the banks turning back to specialist FX advisory teams, in a move away from cross-product generalist sales.
ABN, Deutsche top forecast rankings
LONDON -- ABN Amro was the most accurate currency forecaster based on a one-month prediction made on March 7, while Deutsche Bank took top spot for 3m forecasts submitted three months ago in FX Week ’s table of forecasters (see below).
Client trading volumes rising
LONDON -- Booming hedge fund interest and an increasing number of client banks in the market are boosting global customer forex volumes, according to data from research consultancy Greenwich Associates.
CFTC charges two for fraud
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last week continued its drive against retail FX fraud, charging two firms with frauds totalling over $10 million.
Dollar consolidation brings FX manager joy
STAMFORD, CT -- A temporary halt in the US dollar’s downtrend helped 60% of currency managers on the Parker FX Index maintain positive returns in February. But returns were limited -- the index was up just 0.16% for the month.
Further uncertainty grips market
LONDON -- FX markets breathed a sigh of relief last week as the war in Iraq got under way, but as one source of uncertainty was removed, another popped up.
BarCap lures top dealers
LONDON -- Barclays Capital is in the midst of an aggressive recruitment campaign in London and New York, targeting staff at the world’s top investment banks.
Bush war stance sinks dollar
NEW YORK -- The US dollar slid to a four-year low against the euro last week, as US president George Bush’s stance over Iraq continued to harden.
Vol surge expected from east Europe
WARSAW -- Political events in countries slated to join the European Union and the euro are set to trigger a wave of FX volatility in emerging European countries, market participants told FX Week .
Rand reverses 2001 downtrend
JOHANNESBURG -- Interest rate yields, gold prices and a budget announcement powered the South African rand to a 20-month high against the dollar last week.
CLS settles a trillion a day
NEW YORK -- Continuous Linked Settlement, the new settlement service for foreign exchange, settled a record $1 trillion in FX payments on February 18.
Market static as uncertainty rules
LONDON -- There was little action in G3 FX last week, as the geopolitical stand-off over Iraq extended to the markets.
RBA unwinds Australian dollar holding
SYDNEY -- The Reserve Bank of Australia took profits on its Australian dollar holdings earlier this year, selling nearly A$500 million, according to the bank’s February bulletin.
Dollar downtrend halts decline in US hedging
NEW YORK -- The US dollar’s decline in recent months has sparked an increase in hedging activity among US companies, six months after senior FX officials reported that many firms were unhedged.
BIS expands derivatives data
BASEL -- The Bank for International Settlements said last week that it is expanding its statistics on banks’ country risk exposures to include data on derivatives exposures to individual countries.