Trading
Rumours hit jumpy FX markets
LONDON -- FX markets starved of certainty saw some price movement last week, mostly on the back of unconfirmed rumours regarding the war in Iraq.
Sterling caught in the middle
The relationship between sterling/dollar and euro/dollar has broken down since the start of the year, resulting in sterling’s recent under-performance, says Lena Komileva (right), EMEA economist at Prebon Marshall Yamane in London.
Forex downturn hits US wages
NEW YORK -- Market stagnation has resulted in near flat foreign exchange wages for dealers in the US, with senior managers receiving increases less than the yearly inflation rate, according to a report made public earlier this month.
Tullett launches global Swapmarker
LONDON -- Tullett Financial Information, a subsidiary of brokerage firm Tullett, last week released a global version of Swapmarker, its capital markets data product.
Real-life problems, innovative solutions
Options for euro-sceptics
Verdict due on Beirut meeting
BEIRUT -- The fate of the global forex industry’s biennial meeting, due to take place in Beirut in just two months, will be decided on March 17.
After feast comes famine for the dollar
The US dollar may have been feasting on inflowing money in recent years but, says Pete Luxton, global economic adviser at MMS International in London, it is now going hungry
Vol surge expected from east Europe
WARSAW -- Political events in countries slated to join the European Union and the euro are set to trigger a wave of FX volatility in emerging European countries, market participants told FX Week .
Zar Amrolia quits Goldman
LONDON -- Former global head of FX sales at Goldman Sachs, Zar Amrolia, has left the bank after a series of job changes divested him of some of his forex responsibilities.
RBS FiXes benchmarks with EBS
LONDON -- The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has gone live with a new benchmark engine for spot and forwards FX rates, called RBSFiX.
Emerging markets boost HSBC’s profits
LONDON -- A strong performance in emerging markets FX helped HSBC to its biggest-ever yearly forex profits, an official said last week. The bank made $1.17 billion from forex in 2002, up by 4% from $1.12 billion the year before. Based on banks’ financial…
Asian forex still untapped
SINAGPORE -- Five years on from the Asian financial crisis, FX trading opportunities in the region remain largely untapped, market participants told FX Week .
Rand reverses 2001 downtrend
JOHANNESBURG -- Interest rate yields, gold prices and a budget announcement powered the South African rand to a 20-month high against the dollar last week.
Local presence vital for LatAm FX success
BUENOS AIRES -- Banks in Europe may be centralising FX trading activity in one regional centre, but the opposite is required in Latin America, senior bankers told FX Week .
Lehman bags Merrill’s Bernal to lead money manager sales
NEW YORK -- FX heavyweight Mike Bernal joined Lehman Brothers in New York last Monday (February 26). He joins in a new position managing all marketing efforts for money managers in foreign exchange, said a spokesperson at Lehman Brothers in New York.
Economy buoys UK banks’ forex vols
LONDON -- UK banks have managed to avoid the widespread year-on-year downturns in foreign exchange revenues suffered by their US counterparts, financial reports revealed last week.
CME launches CME$Index futures contract
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) launches its new ‘CME$Index’ futures contract, an index of seven foreign currencies against the US dollar, today (March 3). The contract is intended to provide end-users with a broad tool to gain or reduce…
Bloc boosting
Rising commodity prices and high yields have boosted the ‘dollar bloc’ currencies, and the trend is set to continue, says David Mozina, head of G10 FX strategy at Banc of America Securities in New York
CLS settles a trillion a day
NEW YORK -- Continuous Linked Settlement, the new settlement service for foreign exchange, settled a record $1 trillion in FX payments on February 18.
Trichet still best bet for ECB job
Jean-Claude Trichet’s trial is not an insurmountable obstacle to his accession to ECB presidency. But while the outcome is uncertain, French officials must come up with a back-up candidate, says Stephen Sandelius, Paris correspondent for Market News…
Traders reap rewards in LatAm markets
MEXICO CITY -- As clients and banks scour the globe for volatile FX markets, Latin America has become a key battleground for new FX business, senior market participants told FX Week .
ABN Amro overhauls FM division
AMSTERDAM -- ABN Amro last week completed a thorough overhaul of its financial markets division, in a reorgnisation that will affect foreign exchange in two key ways.
Market static as uncertainty rules
LONDON -- There was little action in G3 FX last week, as the geopolitical stand-off over Iraq extended to the markets.
RBA unwinds Australian dollar holding
SYDNEY -- The Reserve Bank of Australia took profits on its Australian dollar holdings earlier this year, selling nearly A$500 million, according to the bank’s February bulletin.