Trading
Chinese volatility picking up
BEIJING - The daily central parity rate for USD/RMB last week had its largest fall since the renminbi's revaluation last July.
LONDON - Yield strategies for currency funds are undergoing their worst period since 1998, according to research by ABN Amro.
The Dutch bank's naive simulations of different currency management styles show that the yield strategy incurred losses as the carry trade continued to unwind with yen, Swiss franc and Swedish krona all strengthening. Sterling was the only carry currency…
Dollar focus in H1 set to continue
The focus on the dollar seen in the first half of the year is likely to continue for the rest of 2006 according to Matthew Foster-Smith, senior currency analyst at Thomson Financial in London.
RBS expands global sales team
GLOBAL – The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has boosted its financial institutions sales team with nine hires globally.
Speculative positions for all currency pairs
Senior portfolio strategist Henrik Degrér at SEB in Stockholm develops a proxy to gauge speculative positions for all currency pairs
Looking beyond US interest rates
The key themes underpinning most bearish US dollar forecasts have been the Fed ending its tightening cycle and a slowing US economy.
EBS boosts Hong Kong and Singapore dollar trading
HONG KONG – Spot broker EBS has added 10 currency panels per page to its EBS Spot screen in a bid to increase trading in Asian currencies.
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.
EBS hits daily volume record
LONDON – EBS hit another daily volume record last week, amid volatile market conditions.
A simple strangle for EUR/GBP vol
Currency managers can insure against unexpected moves in the EUR/GBP using a simple low-cost method, says Neil Mellor, currency strategist at the Bank of New York in London
V for victory in US dollar forecasts
Calyon has achieved consistent top-five placings in four of the six tables because it has "stuck to its guns" for the past 18 months, according to Daragh Maher, senior FX strategist in London.
Who's who on the exhibition floor?
FX Week gives a rundown of some of the top exhibitors at this year's event. Find out who's showcasing what, then see the box below for those all-important entertainment listings
EBS adds rand to spot trading
LONDON – Interdealer broker EBS has added the South African rand to its spot matching system in conjunction with South Africa's largest liquidity providing banks.
Rates and deficits driving the dollar
The foreign exchange markets are continuing to play 'tug-of-war' between interest rate differentials and the US twin deficits, according to Tim Mazanec, senior currency strategist at Investors Bank and Trust (IB&T) in Boston, Massachusetts.
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.
Rouble convertible by July – Putin
MOSCOW – Russian president Vladimir Putin wants to make the Russian rouble a convertible currency by July 1 this year, he said last week.
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.
April strong for forex
NEW YORK – April was a positive month for FX trading, with platforms EBS and FXall both breaking respective trading volumes.
Danske downgrades dollar expectations
Danske Bank has made a substantial revision to its EUR/USD forecasts, expecting it to reach levels close to 1.28–1.30 during the summer, driven by a Fed pause and increased anxiety about global imbalances.
Where have all the petrodollars gone?
Jeffrey Young, managing director, head of currency research, and Eric Darwell, vice-president, currency strategist VP at Citibank in New York, analyse where 'petrodollars' are going and the ramifications for the greenback
Dollar entering a defensive phase
Informa Global Markets remains top of the 12-month rankings, following accurate predictions in EUR/USD and GBP/USD. Informa correctly forecasted 1.23 and 1.76 against means of 1.30 and 1.83 respectively.
Reuters adds ISK
Reykjavik – Global information provider Reuters has launched the Icelandic krona on its Dealing 3000 spot FX matching service.
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.