Tech and data
FXall debuts Altair platform
NEW YORK – FXall, the online FX trading portal, has launched Altair, an upgraded version of its service, to expand its offering to a wider range of products and a bigger customer base.
Bayer Group's two-year plan pays off
LEVERKUSEN – As the dollar continues its slide versus all major currencies – it has lost 8% of its value against the euro in the past two months and 9% against the Swiss franc – corporates are struggling to readjust their hedging strategies.
Concerted intervention ruled out
FRANKFURT – Despite increasingly vigorous comments from European politicians arguing in favour of stemming the onward rise of the euro, concerted intervention from Europe and the US is extremely unlikely.
Trading platforms break records
LONDON – FX trading platforms withstood a massive spike in trading on November 5, as record volumes followed the announcement of better-than-expected US jobs data.
Indian bank takes Reuters to process growing FX volumes
MUMBAI – India's Kotak Mahindra Bank has installed Reuters' Trade Processing system at its head-office in Mumbai to manage growing volumes of currency swaps, bullion trades, interest rate swaps, FX option and structured products trading.
Hantec U-turns on Refco deal
HONG KONG – Hantec Investment Holdings, a Hong Kong-based financial services company, has backtracked on an agreement to discuss licensing investment firm Refco Forex's FX trading system, RefcoFXTrader, less than two months after signing a memorandum of…
UBS link to Fenics for e-options
NEW YORK – UBS is linking broker and software vendor GFI's Fenics options pricing tool to its trading platform, FX Options Trader.
Bush win prompts dollar sell-off
NEW YORK – The re-election of President George W. Bush last week prompted a dollar sell-off, sending the euro to an all-time high just below 1.30 by close of trading on Friday (November 5).
China rate hikes boost FX volatility
CHINA – Volatility in global FX has surged amid speculation that the first rate hike by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) in almost a decade could spark a sooner-than-expected yuan revaluation, according to analysts.
Trading Technologies strikes cash forex trades deal with Hotspot FX
CHICAGO – Trading Technologies International (TT) the Chicago-based software vendor, and Hotspot FX, which operates electronic FX marketplaces, have announced that Hotspot FX will allow TT's customers to transact cash FX trades via TT's X_Trader order…
Funds repatriation bill set to pass
NEW YORK – A bill offering US companies the chance to repatriate overseas earnings at a hugely discounted tax rate is set to be signed into law in the next week – much sooner than previous estimates, said analysts.
GFI adds three for Fenics FX
LONDON – Inter-dealer broker and market data firm GFI Group has hired three new staff for its Fenics FX options pricing system in London and Singapore. The hires will help the firm meet increasingly sophisticated demands on the system from bank clients,…
Chinese currency to rise by 25% against dollar
LONDON – China's currency is up to one quarter below its true value and a significant adjustment on the forex market is inevitable.
Reuters to build Chinese FX platform
SHANGHAI – The China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), a subsidiary of the People's Bank of China, has signed up Reuters to develop a global foreign exchange trading system for it and its member banks.
Reuters outage spells pricing void
LONDON - The pitfalls of relying on electronic systems was made clear to FX traders last week, as a power outage at Reuters' technical centre left them without pricing in European currencies for seven hours. The outage, which began at 2.34pm in London (9…
Lava launches FX platform
NEW YORK – Lava Trading, the US-based equities technology firm Citigroup bought last month, has launched a foreign exchange trading platform called LavaFX.
US banks hit by flat trading
New York – Poor market conditions have led to a sharp fall-off in FX revenues for some US banks, but others managed to post increased returns in the third quarter.
Reech forecasts growth in demand from hedge funds
LONDON – SunGard Reech expects to see a growth in demand from hedge funds for its stochastic volatility model, Real Stochvol, as more people seek to invest in hedge funds, said Christophe Reech, chief executive of the SunGard unit.