Trading
Bumper bonuses expected
LONDON -- Forex bonuses in the new year look set to outstrip 2002 payouts by up to 40%, traders and recruiters told FX Week .
UBS reaps volatility rewards in third quarter
ZURICH -- UBS achieved year-on-year revenue growth of 22% from foreign exchange in the third quarter, as the bank achieved its most profitable quarter in forex in three years. In addition to improving revenues, UBS said the fixed income, rates and…
StanChart continues FX build-up in Africa
LUSAKA -- Standard Chartered sold its first Zambian kwacha FX options in October, as part of its continued forex build-up in Africa, senior officials told FX Week .
Yen and the art of market cycle maintenance
The yen resurgence that began this summer is still in play. But with the Japanese authorities still sporadically intervening in the currency markets, this upward path may meet some sharp setbacks. Simon Derrick, head of Bank of New York's currency…
A strengthening yen is no barrier to Japan's exporters
A stronger yen isn't proving to be the disaster for Japanese exporters that many predicted. Tohru Sasaki, chief FX strategist at JP Morgan Chase Bank in Tokyo, looks at why a strengthening Japanese currency doesn't necessarily mean decreasing revenues…
Rapid expansion takes prime brokerage into the mainstream
LONDON -- Exponential growth in prime brokerage is taking the service out of niche markets and into the mainstream, according to forex market specialists.
Hedging Taiwan dollar risk
Exporters exposed to movements in the Taiwan dollar must hedge by using the non-deliverable forwards market. Michael Image, FX options structurer for northeast Asia at Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong, suggests a zero upfront premium solution, which…
Managing sterling risks
Trading cable or euro/sterling off fundamentals is fraught with risk because they are primarily driven by trends in euro/dollar, says Steven Englander, Barclays Capital’s New York-based chief FX strategist for the Americas. But a properly constructed…
Refco and Abbey Capital to launch FX funds
NEW YORK -- Refco Alternative Investments, a division of Refco Group, has teamed up with portfolio manager Abbey Capital in Dublin to develop a series of managed FX futures funds.
New era dawns for FX data
NEW YORK -- A new era in FX data is on its way, as the continuous-linked settlement service (CLS) for forex prepares to sell its market data back to users early next year.
Ringgit peg set to hold firm
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia’s new prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, is set to maintain the ringgit’s peg to the US dollar for at least 12 months, according to market participants in the Asia-Pacific. Badawi assumed leadership of the Malaysian government in…
Yukos storm hits rouble
MOSCOW -- The arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, chairman of oil company Yukos, and the freeze on his 44% stake in the firm will lead to rouble volatility -- despite the central bank’s current efforts to smooth fluctuations in the exchange rate, analysts…
Amex and HVB FX results growing
MUNICH -- American Express Bank saw a modest uptick in its Q3 FX trading revenues, with $54 million in FX income, up from $50 million for Q3, 2002.
US abandons strong dollar policy -- but will Asia?
The G-7 communiqué at the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Dubai marked the end of the US administration’s ‘strong dollar’ policy. But does it also signal a change in Asia’s preference for a strong dollar?
Risk management for Kiwi wine exporters
With the booming popularity of New Zealand wines in the US, the threat of Kiwi dollar appreciation looms large over the New Zealand wine-making industry. Wes Price in ANZ Investment Bank’s consultative risk management group in Melbourne, describes a…
GFI buys exotic options model
LONDON -- Inter-dealer broker and market data firm GFI Group has bought options pricing model dVega, and integrated it with the latest release of its flagship options pricing tool Fenics FX, GFI will announce today (October 27).
IMF fuelled record trading
NEW YORK -- US banks’ financial results last week added to the evidence that the third quarter witnessed exceptionally high FX trading revenues, chiefly as a result of explosive moves following the International Monetary Fund’s meeting in September.
‘Discount forward’ for hedging euro/sterling
With euro/sterling forecast to strengthen next year, Danny Goldblum, from HSBC’s global FX structuring team in London, proposes a solution to give a UK corporate that imports from Europe the protection of a forward contract at an improved rate