Foreign exchange
CME to enhance electronic options trading
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) plans to enhance electronic options trading on its Globex platform following its purchase of a derivatives technology vendor in Chicago last week.
EBS outage sparks BoJ rumours
LONDON -- Dealers acting on behalf of the Bank of Japan (BoJ) may have been among the customers frustrated by momentary lapses in spot broking platform EBS’s dealable rates last week.
September - Quote unquote
"We jointly decided that the best move would be to increase its FX expertise" -- Jim Brown , managing director of TH Lee Global Internet Managers, on the departure of Currenex chief executive Lori Mirek in January
October - BoA announces Fleet bid
Banking mergers were thin on the ground in 2003, but in October, news came of Bank of America’s (BoA) $47 billion purchase of FleetBoston Financial.
August - HSBC challenges Citi on Mexican remittances
HSBC issued a challenge to Citigroup in August by declaring its intention to target the $10 billion a year US/Mexican remittances market.
February - Heavyweights tackle anonymity risks
The risk of trading with unnamed counterparties was highlighted in February, when central banks and top players in FX joined together to combat the problem.
December - AIG cuts ahead of merger
The year ended on a bad note as recruiters in the US and Europe started to report widespread cuts at American Insurance Group in Connecticut and London in December.
July - Indian market opens up
The Reserve Bank of India lifted restrictions on trading currency options in July. The move was a major development for FX in one of the world’s fastest growing economies.
US sets trend for high bonuses
NEW YORK -- Global commercial banks are expected to award bumper bonuses in the next three months, following a pattern set by the US investment banks in December.
GFI continues Asian build-up
SINGAPORE -- Two support staff are set to join inter-dealer broker and market data supplier GFI in Asia in January, as the firm aims to capitalise on growing opportunities in the region.
May - Banks’ operational risk lapse exposed
A special investigation by FX Week in May revealed a lapse in operational risk management at banks that do not separate risk management budgets from business lines.
January - Currenex shareholders eject Mirek
From the departure of Currenex’s Lori Mirek as the year opened, to the arrests of 48 forex traders in New York in November, FX Week reviews the top stories of 2003
June - Top three make biggest earnings gains
FX Week’s yearly ranking of banks’ forex revenues in June revealed an acceleration of the trend towards the growing importance of the top banks in FX.
September - Focus on the Middle East
All eyes turned to forex in the Middle East in September, as industry body ACI’s global congress finally got under way in Beirut.
April - Sars hits trading in HK
Banks in Hong Kong readied their contingency plans in April as the deadly Sars virus gripped the trading centre.
JPMorgan Fleming to launch FX fund
LONDON -- JPMorgan Fleming will launch a fund in February based on research produced by parent group JP Morgan Chase.
Scandinavian banks look east
STOCKHOLM -- Scandinavian banks are expanding emerging markets teams in Europe and Asia as they seek to upgrade non-Scandi forex in preparation for the anticipated disappearance of the Swedish and Danish crowns.
StanChart tops Asian interbank poll
HONG KONG -- Standard Chartered was the runaway winner for currency products in FX Week sister publication AsiaRisk ’s annual interbank derivatives poll.
Dollar dive helps set new CME records
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Mercantile Exchange reported a succession of record volumes last week, as the dollar’s dive prompted heavy trading in the world’s biggest exchange-traded FX marketplace.
Reuters’ Chinese data deal
SHANGHAI -- Reuters has signed an agreement with the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) to deliver enhanced financial market information to CFETS’s customers. CFETS, a subsidiary of the People’s Bank of China, offers yuan foreign exchange…
CME reports November uptick
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) last week reported increased year-on-year foreign exchange volumes for November, citing further growth on its electronic trading platform Globex as a key driver.
NFA lifts emergency action against COESfx
NEW YORK -- Regulatory body National Futures Association (NFA) lifted an emergency enforcement action against New York-based electronic currency network COESfx on December 3.