Foreign exchange
August leaves Merrill for TD Securities
LONDON - Mark August, former head of UK real-money business, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), at Merrill Lynch in London, has been hired by TD Securities as managing director and head of institutional foreign exchange distribution for Europe.
Fenics Enterprise extends GFI's options data reach
LONDON - GFI Group plans to further embed itself in the trading process with a bespoke version of its Fenics FX options pricing, risk management and trading tool, Fenics Enterprise.
Schiff quits Newedge
CHICAGO & NEW YORK - Ryan Schiff, recently appointed Chicago-based global head of liquidity at the newly merged Fimat and Calyon Financial entity, Newedge, has quit the company to join rival institutional broker MF Global.
Goldman Sachs launches new Redi FX platform
LONDON - Goldman Sachs has launched Redi FX, a stand-alone, single-bank foreign exchange trading platform.
CLS calls for operations change
LONDON - Four banks are in discussions to use a warehouse solution by settlement system CLS, in a push to reduce capacity constraints at their back offices brought on by surging ticket volumes.
FX-linked investments rise as US dollar weakens
NEW YORK - Forex-linked investments enjoyed rapid growth in the US last year, as the dollar experienced further decline.
US dollar expected to bottom out in second half
LONDON - The US dollar will bottom out against the euro, pound and other European currencies in the first half of this year, according to an audience poll at Goldman Sachs' annual foreign exchange conference in London last Wednesday (February 6).
Speculation mounts over exotic FX hedge ban in India
MUMBAI - Mounting concerns over the mis-selling of exotic foreign exchange derivatives to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India has sparked speculation of a ban on sales of the products by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Pimco reaps "great" currency returns
LONDON & MUNICH - Fixed-income specialist fund manager Pacific Investment Management Company (Pimco) is confident to reap "great" returns from its first currency fund, according to Thomas Kressin, a Munich-based senior portfolio manager at the firm.
New global head of sales for Deutsche
NEW YORK - Richard D'Albert is set to become global head of sales at Deutsche Bank, based in New York.
Choosing the right carry strategy
Nikki Marmery reports on the proliferation of carry trade indexes and outlines the key differences between the main banks' offerings
Merrill Lynch culls global head of forex position
LONDON - Merrill Lynch embarked on yet another change in strategy for foreign exchange by making the global head of foreign exchange role, held by Harry Culham in London, redundant last week.
Saxo Bank adds JP Morgan to its prime broker list
COPENHAGEN - Saxo Bank is using US bank JP Morgan as its prime broker to trade anonymously over electronic spot foreign exchange trading system, Reuters Spot Matching.
NFA cracks down on AMI
CHICAGO & LONDON - The US National Futures Association (NFA) has set a precedent by ordering one of its brokerage members to only solicit promotional material from companies registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the NFA.
Nordea signs up with SuperD
COPENHAGEN - Nordea will use data and software vendor SuperDerivatives' market data feed to ensure price transparency, and assist with accounting and regulatory compliance.
London still top of the forex markets
LONDON, NEW YORK, TORONTO & SINGAPORE - London holds firm as the leader of the foreign exchange world, as year-on-year forex growth in the UK continues to outstrip that of the US, according to the latest figures released by regional trade bodies.
Saxo Bank sells 5% stake for $92m
COPENHAGEN, LISBON & LONDON - Espirito Santo Financial Group (ESFG) and subsidiary Banco Espirito Santo Group (BESG) have bought a 5% shareholding in Saxo Bank, in a move to expand the bank's electronic capabilities.
Icap speeds up price info on EBS
LONDON - Interdealer broker Icap has cut latency on spot-broking system EBS Spot and market data service EBS Live, according to a letter to EBS Prime bank customers seen by FX Week .
HK bank Wing Lung licenses Fenics FX
HONG KONG & LONDON - A growth in Hong Kong bank Wing Lung's foreign exchange options business has prompted it to license GFI Group's options pricing and risk management system, Fenics FX.
BoA scales back global FX
LONDON, NEW YORK & SINGAPORE -Bank of America (BoA) is continuing to scale back its global foreign exchange operations, with senior-level departures and desk closures last week.
Deutsche cuts forex in London
LONDON - Deutsche Bank has made five cuts to its foreign exchange team in London, as part of wider redundancies in the global markets business.
Ex-BNP FX head joins Bear
LONDON - Bear Stearns has realigned senior foreign exchange management in Europe, with Loïc Meinnel, former global head of FX at BNP Paribas, taking the helm in London.
Carrying a mixed bag
Analysts polled by FX Week reveal an industry split on the sustainability of resurging risk appetite and the future of yen-based carry trades. Compiled by Wendy Mock