Structured products
Human touch will always be needed
Markets have been on the move again this week. Comments from retired Fed chairman Alan Greenspan about the US housing market and noise surrounding China's reserve policy ensured that the greenback at last broke through the 1.26–1.28 range that it had…
'Boiler room' retail FX fraudsters face US court for high-pressure techniques
NEW YORK – The retail foreign exchange market suffered another blow at the end of last month, as 11 men were indicted by a US court on charges of ‘boiler room’ fraud.
BarCap joins algo bandwagon
LONDON – Barclays Capital (BarCap) has joined a select group of banks that has started offering algorithmic trading for forex over their single-bank platforms.
Maintain a long Swiss franc exposure
Todd Elmer, currency strategist at Citigroup in New York, predicts an upturn in Swiss franc fortunes, and advises directional trades on EUR/CHF
Hedging sterling/dollar is best option
Despite GBP/USD rising over 10% so far this year, Ian Stannard, senior currency strategist at BNP Paribas in London, says hedging still makes sense
How Saxo gained the Midas touch
Lars Seier Christensen and Kim Fournais have seen their business plan unfold since 1992 from FX broking boutique to billion dollar internet bank, reports Rob Shepherd
StanChart extends use of FinIQ structured deposit system
GLOBAL – Standard Chartered (StanChart) is rolling out a structured deposit pricing and processing system for its currency-linked investments businesses globally.
Building long AUD/NZD positions with less risk
Besa Deda, Sydney-based currency strategist for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, looks at how to gain long exposure to AUD/NZD amid high volatility
Rouble hits seven-year peak against dollar
MOSCOW – The rouble hit its highest level against the US dollar for seven years last week, as the soaring price of oil boosted the Russian unit.
Watch out for those retail risks
This week sees yet another tale of greed and unscrupulous behaviour, with two Miami residents being fined millions of dollars by the CFTC for foreign exchange fraud.
Conference vendor news
This year's New York event has more vendors than ever. Here we present a quick guide to what some of them will be promoting
Creating an algorithmic safeguard
Stuart Crooks, vice-president, sales for FlexFX in London, points to algorithmic trading as a way to keep up with the increasing speed at which the market moves
Philips Electronics trades 98% of FX electronically
MONTE CARLO – The e-FX market received a strong endorsement last week, with Philips Electronics revealing that nearly all its FX is transacted electronically.
Structured note digital payout versus participation factor
Neil Bardsley , vice-president and FX options correlation trader at Bank of America, studies the use of an at-the-money spot basket option versus a digital payout in a structured note
Cognotec to roll out e-trading platform
LONDON – Cognotec last week began the first-phase roll out of an e-trading solutions platform that will bring together all client segments and asset classes.
Cognotec to roll out e-trading platform
LONDON – Cognotec last week began the first-phase roll out of an e-trading solutions platform that will bring together all client segments and asset classes.
E-trading for Calyon Financial
PARIS – Calyon Financial, the brokerage arm of French bank Calyon, last week launched an online forex trading platform called Calyon Financial FX Edge.
Retail rollout for major banks
GLOBAL – A number of banks are launching retail FX offerings this year as they see growing opportunities for attracting flow from this market.
Launches maintain rapid rate of change
The forex market is going through rapid evolution, with banks trying to engineer a market that better suits their needs.
Diversifying through Africa
African basket options are a good vehicle for picking up yield and diversifying away risk, says Marios Maratheftis , FX strategist at Standard Charterd Bank in London
Retail rollout for major banks
GLOBAL – A number of banks are launching retail FX offerings this year as they see growing opportunities for attracting flow from this market.
Cliquet options for the longer view
Cliquet options embedded in a zero coupon structured product can be used to take advantage of a medium- to long-term view, suggests Jeffrey Todd Lins, director, quantitative analysis at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen
Lava moves into interbank FX space
NEW YORK – Citigroup subsidiary, Lava Trading has confirmed plans to launch a new interbank forex trading system this year. The move makes it the first of a number of platforms rumoured to be taking the plunge into the space.
A changing interbank landscape
The decision by the world's largest interdealer broker, Icap, to acquire spot FX broker EBS bears significant implications for the current landscape of the FX industry.