Trading
US banks announce record first-quarter results
NEW YORK – The US investment banks have stormed through the first quarter of this year, with record-breaking results released last week.
Bullish US dollar stance pays off
HBoS Treasury Services tops this week's 12-month forecast rankings, owing to a bullish stance on the US dollar the bank has held since early 2005.
The winners take it all?
In the past few years, it has become clear that the winners in FX are those that were first to commit to the right IT investment.
Talks mount over FXall buyer
NEW YORK – FXall has agreed to sell a 20% stake to private equity firm Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), based on an overall valuation of $300 million for the company, say sources.
Calyon points to cyclical factors
LONDON – French bank Calyon has cemented its top five position in all three historical tables by maintaining its year-long view that cyclical factors are the dominant driving factor for currencies.
Commit to algos, banks warned
LONDON – Banks must commit now or be prepared for a life outside the fast-moving algorithmic space, warned Jeremy Smart, executive director at Morgan Stanley.
Marex continues expansion
NEW YORK & LONDON – Independent brokerage firm Marex Financial has signed its third deal with an FX platform in recent weeks.
Reuters adds trading service for exchanges
LONDON – Reuters last week entered the exchange-traded space with an offering that enables the buy side to execute trades on exchange products with brokers from a single screen.
EBS pushes into emerging markets
BEIJING – Global trading platform and data provider EBS is making inroads into the emerging markets arena with the roll-out of its data service in China and the introduction of its prime brokerage platform in eastern Europe.
Demand for ETFs at an all-time high
BASEL – Demand for exchange-traded futures and options contracts reached an all-time high last year, with annual turnover up 22% on 2004, according to the latest quarterly data released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
DJ Newswire and FXdirekt launch German language news service
LONDON & FRANKFURT – Dow Jones Newswire has teamed up with German online trading platform FXdirekt Bank, to establish a German language real-time FX news service.
HSBC becomes CME Russian ruble market-maker
CHICAGO – Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the regulated FX marketplace, has added a second market-maker for Russian ruble futures, with HSBC signing up to provide liquidity. Deutsche Bank is also a market-maker for this contract.
Not too late to sell the Swedish krona
As the short-term interest rate spread between the eurozone and Sweden increases, we are likely to see further depreciation of the krona, writes Henrik Degrér , senior portfolio strategist of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB)
Banks should have the courage of their convictions
The speculation swirling around the future of two of the most important forex institutions is providing the industry with something to discuss, and for us journalists something interesting to write about.
Insch goes the extra mile with systematic launch
TRÜBBACH – Swiss hedge fund Insch Capital Management is to launch its proprietary in-house systematic trend-following currency program, Kintillo, in March.
Gain expands US retail FX presence
BEDMINSTER, NEW JERSEY – Gain Capital, the non-bank provider of forex trading and asset management services, has opened an office in New York City.
Latest game from FX Player
LONDON – FX Player and data and proprietary analytics vendor TraderMade have joined forces to launch a new trading game.
HSBC FX revenues rise
LONDON – HSBC ended 2005 with a 6% rise in revenue from foreign exchange over the previous year, with the bank benefiting from increased interest in emerging markets.
DrKW makes senior hires
LONDON – Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) is continuing to rebuild in sales, trading and structuring with three further hires.
Is risk adequately priced?
An end to carry plays on high-yield emerging currencies would create volatility in FX markets and potential flight to safe-haven assets. Sharada Selvanathan , currency strategist at BNP Paribas in Singapore, suggests a basket to benefit from this
Peso strong despite political turmoil
MANILA - The Philippine peso has weathered the storm of the recent political turmoil to close at a fresh three-and-a-half year peak of 51.17 per dollar (March 3 midday GMT) as political worries eased, according to traders.
Saxo adds Web and Mobile Trader
COPENHAGEN - Saxo Bank has announced that it is introducing a browser-based trading platform to complement its Saxo Trader.
Dresdner launches FX prime brokerage
LONDON - Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) last week launched a foreign exchange prime brokerage (FXPB) business, completing its cross-asset class product PB offering.
Hedge fund signing for Deutsche Bank's Select
FRANKFURT - Deutsche Bank has added to its FX Select platform by signing Sagio's new FX hedge fund, according to FX Week sister publication Hedge Funds Review .