Trading
China forex volumes rise
BEIJING -- Forex turnover in the Chinese market rocketed by 73% in January, according to data made public last week.
Dollar downtrend halts decline in US hedging
NEW YORK -- The US dollar’s decline in recent months has sparked an increase in hedging activity among US companies, six months after senior FX officials reported that many firms were unhedged.
Rusnak lessons still unheeded
NEW YORK -- Global banks are yet to implement key recommendations to limit rogue trading losses, one year on from John Rusnak’s record $700 million forex fraud.
A focus on partnerships
Vision, transparency and communication are key to FX outsourcing partnerships, says Kiril Alexiev, assistant vice-president in Global FX Strategic Alliances at ABN Amro in Chicago
Digital strike combats Korean hedging worries
A local importer in South Korea with upcoming dollar payables would be wise to consider a digital strike forward as tensions increase in North Korea, says Charlie Brown, head of structuring and solutions for global FX options at Standard Chartered Bank…
ABN reports FX uptick
LONDON -- Dutch bank ABN Amro reported a 40% rise in FX dealing income for 2002 in a report released last week.
Goldman to add FX to research portal
LONDON -- Investment bank Goldman Sachs will add FX to a new centralised data and research platform in March.
GFI closes FX options mark-to-market gap
NEW YORK -- Solving the problem of marking FX options to market came a step closer to being resolved last week, with the launch of a new ‘revaluation fixing’ service from New York-based interdealer broker GFI.
Private client demand soars for FX firm
LONDON -- More private clients in the UK buying property in Europe has boosted demand for a new specialist FX firm, a senior official at Seagray Matthews Foreign Exchange (SGM-FX) told FX Week .
Give every DOG its day
The threat of war in Iraq, and the political and financial fallout, has brought dollar weakness. But this narrow focus ignores a more telling relationship across the asset classes -- that of dollar, oil and gold, says Gerald Ashley
Combined sales teams take off
LONDON -- The FX sales dealer may soon be a thing of the past if a new trend for cross-product sales teams catches on.
Analysts mull Iraq FX fallout
LONDON -- With geopolitical tensions continuing to dominate FX markets, analysts are now looking beyond any potential conflict at the possible fallout and its impact on currencies.
Heavyweights tackle rising un-named counterparty risk
NEW YORK -- Top FX banks are joining forces with central banks and industry groups to eliminate un-named counterparty risk.
Barclays merges FX/FI prime brokerage
LONDON -- Barclays Capital will complete the merger of its FX and fixed-income prime brokerage businesses by the end of March, a senior official told FX Week .
Amex Bank’s FX revenues rising
BOSTON -- American Express Bank last week announced an uptick in its FX revenues for 2002. Amex reported foreign exchange income and other, undefined, trading revenues for full-year 2002 of $170 million, up 18% from $144 million in 2001.
Shift in risk sentiment shores up Australian options market
SYDNEY -- A change in risk sentiment, coupled with major underlying spot moves in local currencies, is bringing extra FX options business to Australia, according to local dealers.
Egypt floats pound
CAIRO -- The Egyptian pound remained stable last week at 5.41 per dollar after it was freely floated for the first time last Wednesday (January 29).
Intervention risk looms
LONDON -- As the US prepares to invade Iraq, FX dealers could soon be facing their own battle against central banks.
New US laws could hit retail market
NEW YORK -- New laws being drawn up by US regulators could hit volumes in the US retail FX market, officials said last week.
Hungary: when the funds go marching in
The Hungarian forint’s peg should be scrapped before another speculative attack on the currency, say Marios Maratheftis and David Mann, economists at Standard Chartered Bank in London
Lessons in FX
Rob Carnell, senior international economist at Commonwealth Bank in London, reveals the lessons to be learned from the last 12 months in FX -- but warns that 2002’s peacock could always be this year’s turkey
Reorg brings ABN derivatives joy
LONDON -- Officials at ABN Amro last week pointed to a recent reorganisation to explain its success as FX Week sister publication Risk ’s currency derivatives house of the year.
India considers rupee options for corporates
MUMBAI -- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could allow banks to offer foreign currency-rupee options to corporate clients by April, according to a bank official.
Shareholders ousted Mirek
NEW YORK -- Lori Mirek, the recently-departed chief executive of multi-bank portal Currenex, was ousted by the firms’ shareholders, FX Week has learned.