Foreign exchange
FSA lifts short-selling ban but disclosure rules stay
Daily news headlines
BIS releases roadmap to better stress testing
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has issued a list of improvements to stress-testing practices that it says could help banks and regulators avoid a repeat of the failures exposed during the financial crisis.
Congress questions SEC competence as Madoff investigation begins
US Congressmen have voiced scepticism about the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) plans to investigate internal failings over the Bernard Madoff fraud case and explore whether numerous opportunities to identify the $50 billion swindle were…
SEC: fair value not to blame for financial crisis
Fair-value accounting did not play a substantial role in the downfall of large financial institutions last year, according to a report by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released on December 30.
NCDEX launches gold and silver contracts
India's second largest commodity exchange, the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), added gold and silver futures contracts to its portfolio at the end of December 2008. According to the exchange, the contracts were launched in response…
NDFA sports FTSE play
UK distributor NDFA has launched its Growth Kick Out Plan December 08, an autocallable product designed to provide exposure to the FTSE 100 index.
Barcap launches new structured deposits
Barclays Capital has launched two new structured deposit accounts for its offshore bond series: the three-year guaranteed digital and the five-year guaranteed FTSE 100 deposit accounts.
Po Valley Energy secures sales agreement for Italian gas fields
Po Valley Energy, an Australian oil & gas company, has secured its first gas offtake sales agreement worth €38 million for production from its northern Italian gas fields.
Plastics futures to launch on DGCX
The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) is set to launch two plastics futures contracts on February 5. The region-specific contracts for the Middle East and Southeast Asia will be offered on linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and…
Merrill Lynch sues Reliant over credit facility
Merrill Lynch has filed a suit with the New York Supreme Court claiming Houston-based Reliant Energy defaulted when it cancelled a $300m credit agreement on 5 December 2008.
CME awaits SEC approval for CDS clearing
The launch date for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group's credit default swap (CDS) clearing platform remains unclear, almost two weeks after it received the green light from two US financial regulators.
Households and corporates suffer worsened credit conditions
A net 31.1% of lenders cut back on lending to households and small businesses in the past quarter, blaming a worsened economic outlook, reduced risk appetite and lack of available funds.
Fed agency MBS purchases to begin within days
The US Federal Reserve will start buying mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issued by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae within the next few days, fulfilling a promise it made in November.
Isda documentation to cover CDS settlement auctions
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association plans to incorporate the credit default swap (CDS) settlement auction process into the 2003 Isda credit derivatives definitions by mid-March.
Tarp runs out at last
Funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp) have finally been exhausted, following three months of capital injections and loan facilities extended to a variety of institutions.
The matchmakers
Evolution Securities, a London investment bank previously associated with the equities market and its advisory work with small- and mid-cap clients, has branched into fixed income with the recruitment of two credit market stalwarts, Guy Cornelius and…
The City's boy in blue
For all the recent talk amongst banking chiefs and lawmakers of a return to a more 'vanilla' world of high finance, the sophistication of modern markets provides a fertile ground for fraudsters and insider dealers to operate without detection. To combat…
EC talks on CDS clearing house break down
The European Commission's drive to get derivatives market participants to formally commit to a central counterparty clearing house for over-the-counter CDS has stalled
Is it too late to revive the securitisation market?
First we were told it was undergoing a temporary hiatus, then it was stalled, now they're saying it's broken altogether. William Rhode takes a look at the global securitisation market to see what, if anything, can be done to restore its fortunes
Calls grow for scrapping of Basel II accord
Industry figures argue that the capital adequacy regime is not relevant in today's economic climate, and that regulators have already abandoned certain aspects of the accord on the quiet
Nick Themelis
The CIO at e-trading platform MarketAxess tells Matthew Attwood how the company's technology helps clients achieve regulatory compliance
Joe Lovrics
Quite what kind of structured credit market will emerge from the ashes of the financial crisis is a matter for intense debate. The head of structured credit sales at BNP Paribas gives his views on the drivers for the market's future