Economics
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
Greek woes revive seven-year old Goldman swap story
The Greek debt crisis has refocused attention on a controversial swap trade first reported by Risk in 2003. The deal, completed with Goldman Sachs in 2002, effectively allowed Greece to borrow roughly €1 billion without adding to its public debt figures…
Sentimental value
Naomi Fink, Japan strategist in global markets sales and trading at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ in Tokyo, assesses the slump in corporate sentiment in Japan, and what this bodes for the country's economic growth
US lets China off the hook
WASHINGTON, DC - The US Treasury has cleared China of manipulating its currency to gain unfair trade advantages against the US.
US recession prompts call for recoupling
LONDON - A US recession this year would prompt a "recoupling" of non-US growth on an absolute if not relative basis, according to speakers at Goldman Sachs' annual foreign exchange conference in London last Wednesday (February 6).
FX market goes back to fundamentals
LONDON - A correction in overvalued currencies and risk aversion will promote strategies based on economic factors and real value this year, say analysts.
Banks expand Asia research
SINGAPORE & HONG KONG - Asian analysts are in hot demand as a number of banks build up Asian research teams to match client interest in the region's emerging economies.
London forex faces 130 job cuts
LONDON - Foreign exchange workers in London should brace themselves for 130 job cuts in 2008 as the interbank market crisis forces banks to reduce staff levels, according to estimates by London's Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).
Is the dollar dross?
Pete Luxton, global markets adviser, and Shant Movsesian, FX options manager, at Informa Global Markets in London, seek ways to benefit from the flagging US dollar
Rating agencies assess CP markets
EUROPE – Fitch Ratings and Moody's sought to capture the effect of the commercial paper (CP) market's lack of liquidity on the wider banking outlook in two conference calls last week.
Goldman bullish on Bric
LONDON – The New World economies are to overtake Old World economies within 25 years, according to Jim O'Neill, head of global economic research at Goldman Sachs.
China's forex reserves exceed $1 trillion
BEIJING – China's foreign exchange reserves have exceeded the $1 trillion mark, said state officials last week.
Reset strike bonus forwards for a Korean win
David Mann, senior FX strategist, and Michael Image, senior FX structurer at Standard Chartered in Hong Kong, suggest reset strike bonus forwards over plain forwards to hedge Korean won downside risks
Building long AUD/NZD positions with less risk
Besa Deda, Sydney-based currency strategist for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, looks at how to gain long exposure to AUD/NZD amid high volatility
How to position in emerging Asia?
Ben Simpfendorfer, Hong Kong-based Asian strategist for the Royal Bank of Scotland, looks at how to gain exposure to emerging markets amid fears that they will sell off
Defrosting the myths
The risk of an Icelandic crisis and its impact on other high-yielding currencies has been strongly exaggerated, says Beat Siegenthaler, senior strategist at TD Securities in London
India looks to capital account convertibility
MUMBAI – Indian authorities took a step towards further FX liberalisation last week, by forming a committee to establish a framework for fuller capital account convertibility.
Preparing for Korean won under-performance in 2006
Standard Chartered’s economics and FX strategy team suggest ways to position for a weaker Korean won in 2006
A strategy for yen appreciation
With faster economic growth, yen appreciation will happen. It is just a matter of timing, says Trevor Williams, chief economist at Lloyds TSB Financial Markets in London
Measuring US dollar and prospects
Thomas Lam Tai Loong, treasury economist at United Overseas Bank (UOB) in Singapore, outlines a way of predicting dollar movement through measuring growth in the US economy
Panelists advise Bush on China
HONG KONG – Panelists were put in the shoes of Jon Snow, US Treasury secretary, in the lively session chaired by Ray McKenzie, head of FX at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Don't fall behind, use the REER
The real effective exchange rate holds the key to how the government can manage damaging rupee fluctuation, according to Kotak Mahindra Bank's Treasury Solutions team in India