Market data
Bank of Thailand lifts capital controls
BANGKOK - The Bank of Thailand is today (March 3) lifting controversial capital controls aimed at curbing inflows of hot money and a surging baht, 15 months after introducing the rules.
New options classes for latest Fenics release
LONDON - Seven new option classes are being added to the latest version of GFI Group's Fenics, an FX options pricing, risk management and trading tool.
EBS Spot aims for NDF supremacy
LONDON - The battle to gain market share in electronic non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) broking is gathering pace, with the launch of seven Asian NDFs and Russian rouble trading on electronic spot broking system EBS Spot today (March 3).
Thomson gets go-ahead for purchase of Reuters
LONDON & STAMFORD, CT - Thomson Corporation received approval from the European Commission, US Department of Justice and Canadian Competition Bureau to acquire Reuters last Tuesday (February 19).
Deutsche offers CRI-linked auto-callables
LONDON - Deutsche Bank is now selling auto-callable and target redemption notes linked to its Currency Return Index (CRI).
Barclays Capital rises above credit crisis
LONDON - Barclays Capital released solid full-year results last week, as banks across mainland Europe posted results tarnished by the effects of the credit crisis.
Clients pay a price for transparency
Although some banks appear to be experiencing initial success with the rollout of algorithmic execution services to clients in foreign exchange, it seems any extension of the portfolio of tools available could be curtailed by limited data from electronic…
EBS opened to third-party vendors
LONDON - Icap is expanding access to electronic spot foreign exchange broking platform EBS by allowing selected third-party independent software vendors (ISVs) to write directly to the platform.
Doubts over CLS 'warehouse' system
LONDON & ZURICH - The competitive nature of back-office capacity could curtail adoption of a proposed solution by settlement system CLS to manage strains placed on these systems by surging ticket volumes, say industry experts.
Credit Suisse signs up more algo clients
LONDON - Nine new clients signed up to use Credit Suisse's algorithmic trading models for foreign exchange in January, according to a senior official at the bank in London.
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.
How to get more from your basket
Duncan Farnsworth, director, currency structuring group, at the Royal Bank of Scotland in London, explains how to improve the performance of basket structures
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.
Morroccan bank BCP signs up to FenicsFX
CASABLANCA - Casablanca-based La Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) is implementing foreign exchange options pricing and risk management system FenicsFX this month, in a bid to maintain its position in an increasingly "sophisticated" market, the bank said.
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.
EM indexes stand strong
LONDON & NEW YORK - Indexes linked to emerging market currencies have withstood market shocks, as products launched in the past year show steady returns.
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 .
FX adds shine to banks' Q4 results
BOSTON & NEW YORK - State Street's acquisition of Currenex led the US bank to a strong 2007 fourth-quarter performance, despite the year's subprime woes.
CLS product expansion welcomed
CLS's announcement last week that it has begun settling credit derivatives trades demonstrates the industry utility's efforts to reduce the unit cost and total bill for settling forex trades over the system.
Rand Merchant Bank to roll out e-trading
JOHANNESBURG - Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), a division of FirstRand Bank, plans to go live with a multi-asset class electronic trading platform by Q3.
Dah Sing Bank deploys Fenics FX
HONG KONG - Dah Sing Bank has begun using foreign exchange options pricing and risk management system Fenics FX, developed by interdealer broker GFI, at its Hong Kong-based treasury department.
Swedbank goes live with e-FX price stream
STOCKHOLM - Swedbank plans to offer streaming foreign exchange rates over its proprietary platform and multi-bank platform, FXall, by the end of this month.
Algorithmic trading comes of age
Last summer's resurgence in market volatility highlighted the role of algorithmic trading in maintaining the active flow of electronic liquidity.
There's nothing as certain as change
Happy New Year! As we enter 2008, one thing is for certain - the evolution of the foreign exchange industry continues at an unprecedented rate.