Foreign exchange
Concrete steps taken on international regulation
Daily news headlines
Equity income boosted with new fund from Insight
Insight Investment, the UK-based fund manager, has launched a new equity fund with a derivative overlay to boost returns. The Equity Income Booster Fund targets an annual yield of 8%, using a call option overlay to help achieve its return and reduce…
Geithner proposes systemic risk US super regulator
Editor's blog
Chief risk and compliance officers increasingly vetting business activities
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Auditors focusing on operational risks; increasing risk management role
Daily news headlines
Lyxor launches gold ETN
Lyxor Asset Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Société Générale (SG) has launched its first exchange-traded note (ETN), the Lyxor ETN Long Gold, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The note is designed to track, in real time, the…
$9.2 billion derivatives losses for US banks in Q4
US commercial banks reported $9.2 billion in derivatives trading losses during the fourth quarter of 2008, bringing total trading losses in 2008 to $836 million, according to a quarterly report by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). This…
Shanghai steel futures begin trading
The Shanghai Futures Exchange launched trading in steel futures on March 26 to modest success, with a wide range of trading houses supporting the new contracts, traders and analysts said.
Top executives leave RBS Sempra
RBS Sempra Commodities has confirmed that president Frank Gallipoli and CEO David Messer have left the company.
Phoenix launches platform for renewable credits
Interdealer broker Phoenix Partners has launched an electronic OTC trading platform for renewable energy credits (REC.)
"Substantial increase" in European corporates hedging exposure to CEE
The depreciation of currencies in central and eastern Europe (CEE) has led to a wave of western European companies hedging their forex exposure to the region.
Shanghai steel futures shine on first day of trading
The Shanghai Futures Exchange launched trading in steel futures on March 26 to modest success, with a wide range of trading houses supporting the new contracts, traders and analysts said. The two new contracts are the seventh and eighth products to be…
CDSs on banks under UK asset protection programme widen
The cost of credit protection on UK banks rose marginally this morning. As the deadline of March 31 for UK banks to sign up to the government's asset protection programme approaches, banks already participating in the scheme saw their CDSs widen the most.
Geithner: US will "force all standardised OTC derivatives into central clearing"
The US Treasury will seek to fully regulate over-the-counter derivatives, secure the registration of large hedge funds with federal authorities and push ahead with plans to create a new systemic super regulator, Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner has…
Moody's: FGIC unable to meet payments
Moody's has warned that monoline insurer FGIC might not be able to meet its payments on the subprime-linked assets it has insured.
US Fed and Treasury clarify financial stability responsibilities
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Aite outlines fraud management priorities for US banks
Daily news headlines
US Wrap: Goldman Sachs offers leveraged note
Goldman Sachs has launched a leveraged buffered equity note linked to the S&P 500 index, on what has been a quiet day for US issuance after yesterday's flurry of reverse convertible launches. Morgan Stanley, the only other issuer to place a trade, has…
Banks win slack from FASB on fair value
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has proposed amendments to fair-value accounting, which would allow financial institutions employing internal models to valuate assets and liabilities in illiquid markets.
Vattenfall enters UK power market
Vattenfall Trading Services has started trading over-the-counter and exchange wholesale power in the UK from its Hamburg office.
Geithner to announce illiquid asset repurchase programme
Daily news headlines
US Wrap: Royal Bank of Canada unleashes 20 new reverse convertibles
Royal Bank of Canada rushed into the issuance market last Friday with the release of 20 reverse convertibles, based on the fortunes of a whole range US stocks, from General Electric to Google and including the bold move of relating products to financials…
Market frustrated by lack of detail on US toxic-asset purchase plan
Economists and analysts have criticised the US Treasury's updated toxic-asset purchase plan for again failing to provide the granular detail or specified launch date necessary to reassure capital markets the proposals will indeed help curb the global…
Lyxor limits counterparty risk of ETN
Société Générale's Lyxor Asset Management unit is marketing a new exchange-traded note (ETN) that follows the price of gold, which it says will significantly reduce the problem of counterparty risk.