Foreign exchange
2008 worst year for hedge funds since records began
2008 was the worst year for hedge fund performance since data onalternative investment pools began to be tracked, with average returns of -17.08% across asset classes for the past year, a new report has revealed.
Eurex to launch commodity index futures in March
Eurex will be the first European exchange to offer trading in commodity index derivatives with the launch of four new contracts on March 30.
CFTC acts to shut out grain futures speculators
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved new rules designed to reduce distortions in the soft commodity futures markets caused by speculative activity.
Minor recovery in January for Swiss market
Swiss structured product market volumes made a minor recovery in January, increasing moderately from the subdued December 2008 performance which saw volumes dip to their lowest numbers for the year.
DNV suspension lifted
A major player in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) markets has been allowed to resume validating projects, the United Nations (UN) CDM Executive Board (EB) has announced.
CFTC acts to shut out grain futures speculators
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved new rules designed to reduce distortions in the soft commodity futures markets caused by speculative activity.
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Editor's blog
US and European firms in bid for LCH
A consortium of major US and European financial institutions is lining up a bid for London-based derivatives clearing house LCH.Clearnet. Deutsche Bank is acting as adviser on the acquisition, as well as being part of the bidding group.
Asian airlines struggle with volatile oil prices
A major contributor to the large fuel-hedging losses suffered by Chinese and Taiwanese airlines for 2008 were collar strategies - the purchase of call options and simultaneous sale of put options. But some Asian carriers, such as Malaysia's Air Asia and…
US and European firms in bid for LCH
A consortium of major US and European financial institutions is lining up a bid for London-based derivatives clearing house LCH.Clearnet. Deutsche Bank is acting as adviser on the acquisition, as well as being part of the bidding group.
Fortis offers gold protection in Turkey
Fortis Investments and its wholly owned Turkish entity Fortis Portföy have launched the Fortýs Koruma Amaçlý 1. Fonu, an onshore gold-linked capital protected fund. The trade is the fifth capital protected fund launched by Fortis in Turkey.
Deutsche rolls out Asia-Pacific structured fund
Deutsche Bank has launched the DB Platinum Croci Asia-Pacific Fund, a Ucits III-compliant structured fund which is designed to provide exposure to the Croci Asia-Pacific index.
Barcap’s inflation inspiration
Barclays Capital has launched the AUD Inspire Index, which is designed to provide synthetic inflation protection for Australia using a weighted combination of actively traded and liquid inflation swap indexes from the US, UK and euro area.
ASX to launch coal and power futures
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is to list thermal coal futures and options on April 21. It will also launch New Zealand electricity futures on 28 April and natural gas futures contracts for the state of Victoria on 5 May.
Eight CEOs face congressional bonus questions
The need for discretionary pay was one of numerous thorny issues put to chief executives of eight major banks during a hearing of the US House Financial Services Committee in Washington, DC.
Credit Suisse hit by Sfr8.2bn loss for 2008
Credit Suisse recorded a fourth-quarter net loss of Sfr6 billion ($5.2 billion), taking its total net loss for 2008 to Sfr8.2 billion.
Budgets hit internal and external systems: encourage holistic approaches
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Q4 loss of Sfr8.1 billion for UBS
Swiss banking giant UBS reported a fourth quarter net loss of Sfr8.1 billion ($7 billion), bringing its full-year net losses to Sfr19.7 billion. The bank also revealed $16.4 billion of illiquid credit assets had been transferred to the Swiss National…
Questions remain over $1trn toxic asset purchase plan
New financial stability initiatives will see US banks required to implement stress tests to strengthen their balance sheets and the establishment of a pseudo "bad bank" fund that could buy up to $1 trillion of illiquid assets off of struggling financial…
FSA sets out scope of Turner Review on bank regulation
Capital adequacy and liquidity regulation are in need of urgent review as a result of the financial crisis, according to the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA).
UK FSA proposes permanent short-selling disclosure
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FSA releases Financial Risk Outlook
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Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index to underlie Deutsche ETF
Deutsche Bank AG has licensed the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index to underlie its latest exchange-traded fund (ETF). The index comprises a broad range of large, mid and small-cap companies across 18 European countries, consisting of Austria, Belgium, Denmark,…