Foreign exchange
CFTC finds trader liable for $32 million
WASHINGTON, DC – The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has granted a permanent injunction against Ronald Steven Holt and three associated companies for financial misdemeanours, while fining them a total of $32 million.
MAS maintains forex policy
SINGAPORE – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) maintained its stance of 'modest and gradual' appreciation at its semi-annual policy review last Tuesday.
Standard Chartered builds in sales
DUBAI & NEW YORK – Standard Chartered has boosted its global FX sales capabilities by making a senior appointment in the Middle East and a new addition in New York.
EBS sets new quarterly record
LONDON – Trading platform and technology provider, EBS set a new record for spot FX trading volumes on the EBS Spot system in the first quarter of this year.
ABN Amro restructure continues
LONDON – ABN Amro has continued restructuring its FX operations, making another senior management change.
JP Morgan hit by sales departures
NEW YORK & LONDON – JP Morgan's FX sales operation has been hit by a number of departures including a number of defections to Merrill Lynch.
CME breaks into China and Israel
BEIJING – China Foreign Exchange Trade System (Cfets), China's interbank FX market, last week signed a multi-year deal with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Under the agreement, Chinese financial institutions and investors will gain access to…
COESfx enhances online platform
PLAINVIEW, NEW YORK – Electronic communication network (ECN) COESfx has enhanced its platform by adding expanded trading features and a streaming news feed for its retail and institutional investors.
eSpeed offers wireless trading and market data
NEW YORK – Electronic trading system eSpeed has launched a wireless market data and trading solution for institutional trading of FX and US Treasury bond issues via the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 platform.
Barclays set to start forex algo trading
LONDON – Barclays Capital is looking at ways to bring algorithmic trading to businesses within the futures, FX and fixed-income sectors, according to Amy Nauiokas, Barclays' former head of global e-commerce. Nauiokas has been promoted to head of Barclays…
Knight Capital completes HotspotFXi acquisition
JERSEY CITY, NJ – Knight Capital Group last week completed the acquisition of Hotspot FX in an all-cash deal for $77.5 million.
HSBC closes NY prop desk, reorgs management
LONDON – HSBC has closed its prop desk in New York and made a number of changes to its senior management line-up, following the promotion of Andrew Brown to global head of foreign exchange.
RBS realigns prime brokerage ge
LONDON – Michelle Wong, global head of prime brokerage at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in London, is to leave following a realignment of its prime brokerage (PB) business.
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
JP Morgan hit by sales departures
NEW YORK & LONDON – JP Morgan's FX sales operation has been hit by a number of departures including a number of defections to Merrill Lynch.
China's forex reserves exceed Japan's
BEIJING – CHINA, with $853.7 billion in FX reserves, has surpassed Japan's long-held status as the world's largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, state media reported last week.
Retail growth needs responsible attitude
The rise in financials' use of foreign exchange over 2005, as demonstrated by Greenwich Associates research (see related article, this issue), shows just how important it is becoming as an asset class.
DZ deploys Cognotec's AutoDeal+
LONDON & FRANKFURT – Germany's DZ Bank has gone live with vendor Cognotec's AutoDeal+ solution for its new automated online FX trading service.
Marex Financial taps Hotspot FX
LONDON & WATCHUNG, NJ – Independent brokerage, Marex Financial, has signed its fourth deal with an FX platform in recent weeks.
FNX boosts back-office module
PHILADELPHIA – Vendor FNX Solutions has upgraded its back-office module for FX and other asset classes.
StanChart loses two in sales
LONDON & DUBAI – Standard Chartered has seen the departure of two of its FX sales staff in the UK and Middle East over the past few weeks.
e-FX Awards underway
The starting pistol for this year's e-FX Awards has been fired, with companies being invited to submit their pitches in the 12 categories.
Currency trading for DGCX
DUBAI – The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) is set to launch currency futures trading in coming months – the first such products to be made available in the Middle East.
Financial institutions behind FX growth
GREENWICH, CT – Forex trading volumes among financial institution customers rose 18% last year, according to statistics from research firm Greenwich Associates.