Opinion/Technology
Between a rock and a hard place
Patrick Lefler, foreign exchange consultant at Wall Street Systems in New York, looks at the future of CLS as demand grows for bilateral netting
Why you should know your customers
If market rumours are anything to go by, Currenex, Fixi and an FX prime broker could be locked in bitter recriminations after an algorithmic trading client of London-based investment house Fixi blew up last month.
The new wave
Paul Caplin, chief executive at Caplin Systems in London, discusses the application of Web 2.0 for foreign exchange trading
The retail revolution continues...
With each week comes more news about initiatives carried out by wholesale banks to target the retail foreign exchange market, each applying slightly varying strategies. US investment banks, for example, have been renowned for their aggressive pricing to…
A call for old-fashioned banking?
Over the past few years, buy-side traders have been demanding a levelling of the playing field as they increasingly make markets in foreign exchange like their sell-side peers. So it was surprising, and even refreshing, to hear some calls for old…
Watching the market in 3D
Chip Lowry, senior managing director of Currenex, and John Vause, managing director of State Street's Global Link business for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, evaluate the evolution of the FX market's structure
Forex is surviving the credit crunch
The Fed-backed sale of Bear Stearns to JP Morgan has sharpened focus on counterparty risk, with Lehman Brothers as the main target. Although the bank allayed concerns with better-than-expected results, the general crisis of confidence still remains.
Platforms fight for electronic liquidity
Despite the seemingly relentless proliferation of trading platforms in the past few years, many in the industry still believe it's unlikely they will all survive.
Clients pay a price for transparency
Although some banks appear to be experiencing initial success with the rollout of algorithmic execution services to clients in foreign exchange, it seems any extension of the portfolio of tools available could be curtailed by limited data from electronic…
How to get more from your basket
Duncan Farnsworth, director, currency structuring group, at the Royal Bank of Scotland in London, explains how to improve the performance of basket structures
Three simple steps towards risk immunisation
Société Générale - there but for the grace of God? Justyn Trenner and David Poole, principals of client strategy firm ClientKnowledge in London, offer a short check-list of factors to protect against a similar occurrence
Nothing beats a good trading scandal
The past week has produced a frenzy of headlines, from the FTSE index hitting seven-year lows and the Federal Reserve's surprise 75 basis point rate cut, to the billions of dollars in writedowns at major dealers. But nothing grabs the attention as much…
Reduced growth will fuel FX competition
As the market gears up for a fresh year of activity, Patrick Lefler, FX consultant at Wall Street Systems, predicts the key FX market developments in 2008
CLS product expansion welcomed
CLS's announcement last week that it has begun settling credit derivatives trades demonstrates the industry utility's efforts to reduce the unit cost and total bill for settling forex trades over the system.
Algorithmic trading comes of age
Last summer's resurgence in market volatility highlighted the role of algorithmic trading in maintaining the active flow of electronic liquidity.
There's nothing as certain as change
Happy New Year! As we enter 2008, one thing is for certain - the evolution of the foreign exchange industry continues at an unprecedented rate.