Trading
Review of 2004 - January: NAB saga starts in earnest
MELBOURNE – The saga of National Australia Bank’s rogue trading scandal came to light on January 13. The bank said it had uncovered losses of up to A$180 million (US$140 million) from unauthorised trading in forex options during the fourth quarter.
Dollar’s fall catches out FX rate forecasters over three months
The extent to which the market has been surprised by the extent of the dollar’s fall over the last quarter is demonstrated by the FX Week three-month forecasts. Three forecasters saw a divergence of more than 13% from the actual spot rate on euro/dollar…
Asian currencies resilient
HONG KONG – Asia’s currencies have proved resilient after the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami disaster that struck the region last week, said analysts.
Review of 2004 - July: AIB repays E26m for overcharging
DUBLIN – Allied Irish Banks (AIB) said it would repay the e26 million ($32 million) it overcharged clients on 3 million FX deals, after a regulator slammed the bank in a report in July.
Introducing FX into fixed-income portfolios
David Durrant, chief currency strategist for the Americas at Julius Baer Asset Management, says a simple use of cross trades exploiting different central banks’ positions in the economic cycle shows that it is not necessary to use exotic structures
Cable – getting nervous about $2?
Karen Griffith, chief currency analyst at Independent II Research, says technical and fundamental indicators point to sterling well above the $2 mark
IFX goes gaming
LONDON – IFX Markets, the financial trading and spread-betting firm, in December acquired a majority stake in FX Player, a virtual reality forex gaming business.
Dollar weakening, but for how long?
Dollar weakness will continue into the first quarter of 2005 under current US policies, says Marios Maratheftis, economist at Standard Chartered Bank in London. But market volatility may change the Fed's stance
Banks' 'indifference' to IAS 39 hints at software panic-buying
LONDON -- Software vendors are preparing to take advantage of any bank glitches once the IAS 39 accounting standard is implemented on January 1.
Banking on a e/$ breakout
Saxo Bank and Deutsche Bank attained the top two spots in the three-month forecasts this week, with accurate positions on euro/dollar. Deutsche Bank came closest to picking the extent of the euro's strength against the greenback.
Asia continues to rally against dollar
HONG KONG -- Asian currencies are undervalued and will continue to strengthen next year against a weak dollar, according to market participants.
The American double-accrual forward
With expected further euro appreciation, EUR/USD forwards are trading at a premium. Here, Anna Leung, head of corporate treasury marketing at HSBC, shows a way to get access to future hedging at a lower cost
Deutsche cuts global forex
FRANKFURT & SINGAPORE -- Deutsche Bank is understood to be in the process of a major restructuring of its foreign exchange capabilities around the world.
NAB annual results sees FX slip into the red
MELBOURNE -- National Australia Bank recorded a loss in its forex business and a fall in income from forex derivatives trading, in its full-year results released this month.
Cautious corporate approach to IAS 39
LONDON -- Corporates will look to use less complicated products because of the IAS 39 hedge accounting rules, as some believe it could signal significant changes in risk management strategies, according to Georgette Bailey, director, strategic solutions…
Refco relaunches e-platform
NEW YORK -- Refco Group, the New York-based brokerage, has updated its e-FX trading platform.
Dollar recovery set to continue
Dollar recovery is likely to continue this week as short-covering and profit-taking extend further, according to Mitul Kotecha, global head of FX research at Calyon, London
Dresdner joins cutting queue
FRANKFURT/NEW YORK – The future for FX staff at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) looks bleak as the bank makes major job cuts on a global scale.
CLS below half of FX activity
LONDON – CLS lacks traction outside the major banks and still accounts for far less than half of all FX transactions, according to a report by the Bank of England published this week.
Conservative approach to further dollar weakness
A one-year 'leveraged ratchet forward' may help hedgers looking for a conservative strategy who are expecting a lower EUR/USD next year, say Eric Ohayon, European head of FX structuring, and Chris Weiss, FX structurer, at Bank of America in London