Foreign exchange
Investors turn to FX-only funds
LONDON - A greater number of institutional investors demonstrated an interest in FX-only hedge funds this year in an effort to manage currency exposure, according to data from London-based research company Preqin Hedge.
Murphy ends 14 years at Morgan Stanley
LONDON - Chris Murphy, European head of interest rate trading at Morgan Stanley in London, resigned from the firm last week, while the US bank announced falling profits and a 50% reduction in the bonus pool.
Dresdner heads to get key roles post-merger
LONDON - Dresdner Kleinwort employees will be handed key roles in the fixed-income division in London once the bank's merger with Commerzbank is complete.
Forex forwards bounce back as year ends
LONDON - Efforts by global central banks to boost interbank trading are reaping returns, with short-dated foreign exchange forwards basis falling sharply last week. But longer-dated tenors remain a concern, say traders.
Credit Suisse cuts rates teams in Asia, but FX safe
HONG KONG - Credit Suisse began cutting its work force in Hong Kong last Wednesday, primarily hitting credit and equities structuring, but sources say rates teams in the city were also affected.
CFTC fines OTC traders $12m
WASHINGTON, DC - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will secure $12 million in penalties from three traders and their six businesses for an over-the-counter forex options scam.
HSBC offers Islamic FX options in London
LONDON - HSBC is now dealing in sharia-compliant plain vanilla foreign exchange options from London, in response to growing global demand for the product.
Futures look bright for Ice
ATLANTA - The Intercontinental-Exchange (Ice) Millions FX futures contracts have traded at an average daily volume of $350 million since launch a month ago, according to the Atlanta-based exchange.
JPM axes in London FX
LONDON - JP Morgan made cuts to its foreign exchange team in London last week, according to market sources.
Ellis departs CIBC
TORONTO - Craig Ellis, managing director in foreign exchange and money markets at CIBC World Markets, served his last day at the firm last Friday (December 5).
A licence to deal
Experienced traders and other market professionals agree, the current market conditions and environment are unique - the government effectively having to shore up the balance sheets of some of the best-known and well-established banking institutions by…
Retail FX: the light at the end of the tunnel?
Retail foreign exchange continues to be a beacon of light for wholesale FX banks, as they push ahead with plans to expand initiatives into next year.
FX bonuses expected to drop by 80%
LONDON - Bonuses will plummet by 80% for most foreign exchange staff in London, according to research by Armstrong International, a London-based search firm.
India to open rupee/dollar futures to FIIs
MUMBAI - The Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) are expected to allow foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to participate in the currency futures market soon, market participants speculate.
Hedge funds outshine banks as API price-makers
LONDON - Banks are mostly price-takers when trading on spot broking system EBS through an application programming interface (API), according to analysis by interdealer broker Icap.
Morgan Stanley's Mettler gets new deputy head
LONDON - Morgan Stanley has promoted Marcin Wiszniewski to a newly created role as deputy head of global foreign exchange and emerging markets (EM), effective December 1.
One up, three down at Citi
NEW YORK & LONDON - Citi's global head of electronic execution has been made redundant and cuts have been made to the foreign exchange sales team in London, as part of the bank's drive to reduce headcount globally.
New SocGen platform targets active traders
LONDON - Société Générale is set to launch a new foreign exchange trading platform in January, in a move to increase its presence among institutional clients.
SocGen bolsters London FX team
LONDON - Société Générale has boosted its foreign exchange outfit in London with the addition of two former Lehman Brothers staff.
Traders shift focus to recession
LONDON - Traders are reporting a slowdown in foreign exchange activity and a focus shift towards global recession fears as the market approaches year-end.