Trading
Electronic options broking to rise
LONDON -- Electronic broking of FX options is set to rise over the next 12 months, finds new research out this week.
Market suspects yen intervention
TOKYO -- Speculation was rife in FX markets last week that the Bank of Japan was intervening to attempt to keep the yen above 120 per dollar ahead of the Japanese fiscal year-end today (March 31).
The fog of war
What should you do when near-term uncertainties cloud the FX outlook? Concentrate on the medium term and rely on the fundamentals, say Yianos Kontopoulos (right) and Marcel Kasumovich, FX strategists at Merrill Lynch in New York
White-label trend takes root
LONDON -- The liquidity outsourcing industry is reaching a crucial stage in its development, according to bankers, vendors and analysts polled by FX Week .
Conflict puts newswires on overdrive
LONDON -- Market data firms reported booming interest in their services last week, as traders are increasingly turning to war reports to influence their trading.
Manila clamps down on ‘dollar hoarders’
MANILA -- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippines central bank, last week imposed monetary and non-monetary sanctions on eight banks for violating FX laws.
White-label trend takes root
LONDON -- The liquidity outsourcing industry is reaching a crucial stage in its development, according to bankers, vendors and analysts polled by FX Week .
Strategists’ role in prop trading under focus in choppy markets
NEW YORK -- Choppy markets are highlighting the difficulties of accurately forecasting currency moves -- and no more so than for those banks with capital behind their strategists’ recommendations.
Aussie calls offer no worries hedge
Sara Sullivan, senior manager, FX options sales at ANZ Investment Bank in London, summarises an options solution for a corporate client concerned about a reversal of the AUD strength against the USD.
Further uncertainty grips market
LONDON -- FX markets breathed a sigh of relief last week as the war in Iraq got under way, but as one source of uncertainty was removed, another popped up.
War and the dollar
Near-term dollar direction will now depend on the length and ‘success’ of the war. But those factors are far from certain, says Jake Moore, FX strategist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.
Dollar bloc upsurge boosts Australian forex turnover
SYDNEY -- Increasing interest in Australian dollar trading is boosting Australian banks’ forex turnover, senior market participants told FX Week .
BarCap lures top dealers
LONDON -- Barclays Capital is in the midst of an aggressive recruitment campaign in London and New York, targeting staff at the world’s top investment banks.
Goldman down, Bear Stearns up in Q1 forex
NEW YORK -- Goldman Sachs last week reported reduced forex revenues within its fixed-income, currency and commodities (FICC) division for Q1, although other US investment banks fared better.
ACI postpones Beirut meeting
BEIRUT -- The biennial meeting of the forex industry organised by ACI-The Financial Markets Association, has been postponed until September 10--14, the ACI announced last week.
ECB highlights dangers of over-concentrated market
FRANKFURT -- Market consolidation and a reliance on electronic trading could lead to an over-concentration of risk and liquidity among too few market participants, the European Central Bank has warned.
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.