Central banks
Dividend option market tipped for growth
Dividend swaps have been under pressure since the onset of the credit crisis, as fears of dividend cuts have caused the historically steep curve to flatten considerably. But, despite gloomy economic forecasts, the investor base appears to be expanding,…
Can the Icelandic meltdown be avoided?
Fears over the strength of the Icelandic banking system have caused the wholesale system to shut on Icelandic banks, prompting the country’s central bank to hike interest rates to record levels. At first sight, the initiative appears to have worked, with…
AMI releases UK mortgage proposals
Daily news headlines
Bank of England will swap gilts for RMBS
The Bank of England will step in to improve the balance sheets of UK banks by allowing them to swap illiquid mortgage-backed securities for treasury bills.
Banks pack ailing debt into PDCF collateral
Investment banks could be getting rid of unsaleable high-risk loans by using them as collateral to borrow funds from the Federal Reserve through the primary dealer credit facility (PDCF).
Basel Committee aims to improve banking resilience
Daily news headlines
Isda AGM: Regulatory scrutiny of derivatives likely, says Moulds
The derivatives industry faces a period of heightened scrutiny by regulators, mirroring the supervisory review in the wake of a series of mis-selling scandals in the 1990s, said Jonathan Moulds, president for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia at…
MBS capital charges coming soon in Basel II shake-up
Basel II capital requirements on structured credit products are to be raised as part of a wide-ranging review of risk management practices for financial institutions in G-7 nations, the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) has announced.
Wellink defends Basel II
Daily news headlines
Banks vow to improve transparency
The Institute of International Finance (IIF), a banking industry trade group, has promised to improve transparency about risk exposure and executive pay in the wake of the credit crisis.
Icap expands equity presence by buying Link
UK interdealer broker Icap will pay up to £250 million to buy Link, an equity derivatives broker based in London.
US Treasury Blueprint: a good idea?
Editor's blog
OCBC aims for agri-property outperformance
OCBC Bank in Malaysia has launched the Agri-Property Outperformance floating-rate instrument of deposit, a 100% principal protected product that measures the out-performance of six international agribusiness stocks against the iShares Dow Jones US Real…
Paulson regulatory shakeup looks unlikely
US Treasury secretary Hank Paulson’s long-awaited proposals to overhaul the US financial regulatory system have received a tepid response from the market, which is enthusiastic about the intent of the proposals but sceptical that they will ever be…
Weaker oil prices ahead, says Lehman
A series of “new fundamental factors” have buoyed oil prices in 2008, but various physical and financial indicators suggest weaker prices to come, Lehman Brothers’ senior energy economist said today at a briefing in New York.
The big freeze
The US subprime crisis has shown how market illiquidity can affect trading. Yet liquidity risk is a fact of life for commodity firms. William Rhode looks at how to mitigate it
Suppliers fight for green
A shortage of green power in the US has left some states struggling to meet mandatory renewables supply targets. Long-term supply contracts could help producers build new plants, but utilities and competitive suppliers are feuding over who gets to sign…
Credit tighter for certain
Opinion
ECB repo facility 'may hinder securitisation market recovery'
Analysts warn that the European Central Bank's cheap funding is reducing banks' incentive to return to the public asset-backed securities market