Trading
Bank Sarasin: Swiss franc is under control
The Swiss private bank's chief economist believes the threat of further intervention from the SNB will prevent further appreciation of the franc
Saxo turns in 6% income growth, despite tough Q4
Annual results for 2011 reveal a 4% fall in net profit, but Saxo claims that is due to a 12% increase in staff and admin costs to support expansion
European regulators undecided on initial margin rules for uncleared swaps
Counterparties will have to post variation margin on uncleared trades – but questions remain over which firms will have to post and collect initial margin
Goldman Sachs loses three in FX sales
Artur Kuzma, Jonny Edelman and Jo Li have left Goldman Sachs
Move to electronic trading will increase hedge fund use of futures
Competition among buy-side companies and repercussions of Dodd-Frank will push hedge funds to trade electronically, says research from Tabb. Futures trading, mainly electronic, will also increase.
BNP Paribas rolls out Cortex FX single-dealer electronic platform
The French bank today unveiled its long-awaited e-commerce platform, which replaces the white-label FX eTrader offering it launched in late 2009
Nomura expands in Dubai
FX traders Hyeonmuk Mun, Hatem Jerad and Ali Debbagh join Nomura to focus on Mena region
FX market looks to Brazil for LatAm returns
Brazil is a key area of focus for FX banks and interdealer brokers this year, despite the erratic behaviour of the Brazilian real towards the end of 2011 and the challenges arising from the currency’s non-convertibility. Melanie White reports
MarkitServ unveils middleware connectivity service for FX clearing
New middleware tool is launched today after MarkitServ won competitive tender process with the top banks and was certified by three FX clearers
Commerzbank revamps e-commerce platform to include FX structuring
The German bank will migrate existing clients this month from Click&Trade FX onto its rebranded Commander platform
CLS appoints general manager for Asia-Pacific
Makoto Miyazaki joined CLS in Tokyo yesterday, replacing Kiyoshi Morofushi
Gavsie to replace Thorsen as BMO’s FX chief
CJ Gavsie will become head of FX products on March 31, following the retirement of Jamie Thorsen
FX Invest Europe: Investors cautious on prospects for renminbi
Currency managers express a preference for alternative emerging market currencies to Chinese renminbi
FX Invest Europe: Banks are retreating from market-making, managers warn
FX investment has become more challenging, as market-making banks facing new regulation have become less willing to take risk
FX Invest Europe: Developed market currencies still important despite EM buzz
The recovery of major economies will be crucial to the profitability of FX markets, despite the greater returns to be generated from emerging market currencies, according to conference speakers
Banks welcome Tradition-Icap’s volatility fix
The daily fix could pave the way to the creation of new volatility-based derivatives, say participants
US dollar emerging from the woods, says SLJ Macro Partners
Weighing up the net effect of a negative outlook in the eurozone with positive growth signs in the US, Stephen Jen favours the US dollar
Buy the Indian rupee, says State Street Global Advisors
Having been bearish on the rupee for several years, the firm's head of currency management has become more positive in recent months, and now rates the currency as a top EM bet
Exploit relative-value opportunities in EM currencies, says Investec
Turkish lira versus the Israeli shekel is a favourite relative-value play for Thanos Papasavvas, fixed-income and currency strategist at Investec Asset Management
Margin rules for uncleared FX rest with regulatory working groups
Regulators must adopt a calibrated approach to mandated collateral so that short-dated FX swaps and forwards are not caught up in the rules unnecessarily, argue market participants
UK banks ramp up RMB resources in London
Both RBS and HSBC have made senior appointments to prepare for the growth of renminbi in London. The new business heads talk to Chiara Albanese about their priorities
Yield makes a comeback
Two months into 2012, Mitul Kotecha assesses the modest healing process that appears to have taken hold in currency markets after a period of marked risk aversion, and explains why yield is becoming a key factor influencing investor appetite
Digital Vega debuts Traiana’s updated credit and risk service
Post-trade technology provider Traiana has this week launched a new version of Harmony CreditLink to support FX derivatives, with Digital Vega's Medusa the first platform to roll it out
Aussie dollar is overvalued, says UBS Asset Management
Despite the strong performance of the Australian economy, the Aussie dollar is overvalued to "an extreme level", according to Jonathan Davies