Foreign exchange
Bank of Japan intervention set to continue
TOKYO – Japanese authorities spent over $20 billion in the forex markets in Q1 this year, in an effort to ease the yen’s strength against the dollar and the euro.
Intesa bows out of London
LONDON – Banca Intesa, one of the last Italian banks still trading FX in London, closed its desk in April, becoming the latest of its compatriots to consolidate forex in Italy.
US judge dismisses Gain Capital law suit
WARREN, NJ – A lawsuit filed in New York against online forex dealer Gain Capital was dismissed last month.
EBS prime brokers unveiled
LONDON – Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase (JPMC) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will be the first prime brokers on a new interbank prime brokerage service from spot broker EBS.
European banks under euro threat
FRANKFURT – Major European banks’ half-year FX earnings could be under threat from the rise of the euro, senior market participants told FX Week .
Market eyes new euro/dollar high
LONDON – A lifetime high for the euro against the dollar became a distinct possibility last week as the greenback continued to crumble across the board.
The leveraged reverse knock-in forward
With the recent strengthening of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar, a Canadian exporter with US receivables would be wise to consider a reverse knock-in forward, says Richard Stang, vice-president in FX sales at TD Securities in Toronto
Misys buys Crossmar
NEW YORK -- UK systems provider Misys has bought the Crossmar Matching Service (CMS), a foreign exchange and money market confirmation matching service, from Citicorp’s subsidiary Crossmar for $13 million in cash.
BoA links major and emerging FX forwards in risk strategy drive
LONDON -- Bank of America (BoA) has merged its forwards and emerging markets forwards businesses in London, and hired three forwards traders globally as part of a continued drive to move to a strategic risk management model, a senior official told FX…
ACI UK annual ball raises over £46,000
LONDON -- Forex industry body the ACI’s UK branch last week said it had raised £46,300 at its annual ball held at the Grosvenor House hotel in London on April 25.
Indian market opens up
MUMBAI -- Reform of India’s FX rules could create the next large emerging market, signalling a lucrative new area for banks to exploit.
Chinese derivatives regulations expected soon
SHANGHAI -- The Chinese central bank is expected to publish new regulations within the next few months aimed at easing tough restrictions in the country’s forex derivatives market, say bankers.
US banks revisit specialist sales
NEW YORK -- JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America are among the banks turning back to specialist FX advisory teams, in a move away from cross-product generalist sales.
Funds seek new ways to manage currency
NEW YORK -- Funds are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their use of currency management in an effort to boost returns, officials told FX Week .
Riding with the euro
A European client buying US dollars should consider a three-year swap to use the current euro strength to their advantage, says Pritpal Gill, head of structuring at Lehman Brothers in London
Sars threatens C$ boom
TORONTO -- Booming forex business for Canadian banks could be under threat from the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) to Toronto, senior market participants told FX Week .
Macroeconomic trading back in vogue
LONDON -- Institutional traders are returning to macroeconomic trading styles, after years of position-taking based on other factors.
Market focus shifts to fundamentals
LONDON -- The US dollar slipped across the board last week, as the forex market’s gaze turned from war to economics.
Citi rides out tough Q1
NEW YORK -- Citigroup shrugged off concerns about reduced FX client activity in the first quarter of 2003, reporting largely flat forex trading revenues last week.
FX safe from equities threat
LONDON -- Top FX officials are confident the current peak in investor currency business could survive an equity market rally -- a prospect brought to the fore by the success of coalition forces in Iraq.
War threat to Q1 FX profits
NEW YORK – The impact of the war in Iraq on FX will become clear this week, when the US commercial banks publish trading revenues for the first three months of the year.
Client trading volumes rising
LONDON -- Booming hedge fund interest and an increasing number of client banks in the market are boosting global customer forex volumes, according to data from research consultancy Greenwich Associates.
CFTC charges two for fraud
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last week continued its drive against retail FX fraud, charging two firms with frauds totalling over $10 million.
More prime brokers take to web
LONDON -- Automation of the prime brokerage industry is well underway, with a host of new services set to hit the market in the coming months.