Trading
Eurozone undermined by political concerns
Hans Redeker, global head of FX strategy at BNP Paribas in London, points to a return to awareness of political risk in the EU
NAB currency trader jailed
MELBOURNE – Luke Duffy, former head of the National Australia Bank’s (NAB) foreign currency options desk, has been sentenced to 29 months’ imprisonment for his part in the bank’s rogue trading scandal unearthed last year.
Gaining from oppostion
4Cast tops the one-month ranking following positions taken on the opposing forces of interest rate differentials and the twin deficits in the US, said Chris Furness, senior market strategist at the firm in London.
Trio of departures from Citigroup
NEW YORK – Citigroup has lost another two FX staff in New York and one in London, following earlier departures and the closure of desks in continental Europe.
CLS bags world’s largest pension fund
AMSTERDAM – The world’s largest pension fund – the e170 billion Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP – has gone live on CLS as a third party of ABN Amro.
Multi-hurdle barrier options
Remy Marino, head of structuring, interest rates, currencies and commodities at Calyon in New York, discusses how investors or hedgers can optimise the cost of their barrier strategies by utilising a multi-hurdle barrier option
Eurex joins FX futures fray
CHICAGO AND FRANKFURT – Eurex, the Frankfurt-based derivatives exchange, has entered the FX market with a September date set for the launch of its futures platform.
Patsystems supports CME on Reuters
LONDON – Software vendor Patsystems has signed a deal to provide technology supporting Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FX on Reuters, as it looks to extend into new areas and develop beyond traditional markets.
More EM currencies for RBS FiX
LONDON – Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has made a further upgrade to its online FX service, RBS FiX, with the addition of forward benchmark prices for 12 emerging markets currencies.
CMC Markets adds new products and offices
LONDON/TORONTO – Online FX platform CMC Markets is set to expand with the launch of new currency baskets and additional offices globally.
EM options taking the lead
LONDON – Emerging market currencies is the biggest market for options traders, according to a survey by sister publication Risk magazine, with these units representing more than a third of the total traded.
Dollar recovery under strain
After recent strength the greenback looks vulnerable, according to London-based Lena Komileva, G7 Market Economist at Tullett Prebon
‘One size fits all’ is not appropriate
Sabrina Jacobs, FX strategist, capital markets, at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, says Asian currencies need to be looked at on an individual basis
Bullish dollar outlook wins out
Rabobank has maintained its recent dominance of the one-month and one-month year-todate rankings by retaining a moderately bullish outlook for the US dollar throughout 2005.
Euro fall to continue, say analysts
LONDON, COPENHAGEN AND NEW YORK – The euro is set to stay weak against the dollar, according to FX strategists.
Currency warrants taking off in Asia
Hong Kong – Banks are looking to meet the increasing demand for forex-related products by launching currency warrants in major Asian markets.
Logicscope/Velocity service due
LONDON – Logicscope Realisations, the London-based financial software development company, and Adelaide-based financial services firm Velocity Systems International, have formed an alliance, initially focusing on FX.
Five charged over $3m currency fraud
WASHINGTON, DC – The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed another action against individuals taking part in fraudulent foreign exchange trading.
InfoReach adds HotspotFXi to TMS
NEW YORK – InfoReach, the financial securities trading technology firm, has teamed up with Hotspot FXi, the online foreign exchange platform, to allow its clients access to its prices.
Dollar strength despite deficit
Investors Bank & Trust topped the one-month ranking thanks to an accurate prediction on the market’s attitude to the US twin deficits (current account and budget) earlier this year, which led it to a stronger dollar forecast (FX Week, March 7).
‘FX markets are unreadable’
Foreign exchange markets are notoriously difficult to predict, so corporates shouldn’t bother, argues Simon Miles (right), currency strategist at Corporate FX. Instead they should focus on deciding how to hedge the risk so they can determine its real…
‘No’ votes lead to record flows
LONDON – The ‘no’ votes on the EU constitutionreferendums last week led to unexpectedvolatility in the currency markets, and the highestvolumes ever seen on some platforms.
Deutsche loses staff across desks
LONDON – Deutsche Bank in London has haemorrhaged five foreign exchange staff from structuring, sales and trading in recent weeks. Jeremy Smart, director of FX structuring, who reported to Rhomiaos Ram, global head of complex risk, has been linked with a…
EBS opens in Korea
SEOUL – EBS , provider of electronic trading and market data solutions, has opened in Korea as an offshore broker for non-South Korean won pairs.