Equity markets
From Scratch
Vincent van Pelt, global head of equity derivatives andcommodities, Standard Chartered, talks to Rachel Morison
The short story
The UK Financial Services Authority ended its ban on short selling of financial stocks on January 16. How have financial stocks performed since the restrictions were lifted? Christopher Whittall investigates
Double-short ETFs launched to hedge market falls
EasyETF, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider, has listed five new funds on NYSE Euronext Paris. Three of the funds offer double leverage on the downside of European equity indexes, as a means of providing a hedge against further market falls.
US banks told: prepare for 47% drop in house prices
The US Treasury told the country's major banks they must ensure their capital levels can cope with a severe recession, including unemployment over 10% and an overall 47% drop in house prices from their peak in 2006.
Bernanke: Public-private partnership required to value toxic assets
The involvement of both the public and private sectors is essential to accurately value illiquid assets before public funds are used to remove them from dealer balance sheets, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke claimed yesterday.
"$78 billion Tarp windfall" for banks
The US Treasury paid banks $78 billion too much for bank stock and warrants under the Troubled Asset Relief Programme (Tarp), according to the programme's head of oversight.
Barclays launches volatility ETNS after 2008 spikes
Barclays has launched two new volatility-linked exchange-traded notes (ETNs). The notes will track two indexes from the S&P 500 Vix Futures indexes series, which was launched a week ago and aims to replicate a long position in publicly traded Vix futures…
SG adds more to London-listed covered warrant and turbo selection
Société Générale listed 32 new covered warrants and 30 new turbos on the London Stock Exchange in January, a programme that included covered warrants on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks the overall performance of Chinese mainland…
Insurance debt: Don't take a tumble
Holders of bonds from the insurance sector should prepare themselves for a rough ride in 2009. Lingering concerns over the exposure of certain names to toxic structured credit assets and the difficulty of raising more debt in the current environment are…
Fund fusions
Assenagon
Common currency
Markets
Islamic inroads
Cover story
Buy-side backlash
Trading costs
Lyxor lays claim to largest equity ETF in Europe
Lyxor Asset Management has retained its status as manager of the largest equity exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Europe. The Lyxor ETF DJ Euro Stoxx 50, which accrued €5.147 billion in assets under management (AUM) by the end of 2008, gathered €1.5 billion…
$20 billion in Tarp aid for Bank of America after Merrill losses
Bank of America will receive a $20 billion cash injection and guarantees on $118 billion of debt in return for carrying through its acquisition of Merrill Lynch at the start of the year.
Hedging the hard way
Quanto options have stung dealers' equity derivatives books after the unexpected spikes in volatility and correlation that followed the Lehman Brothers collapse, while structured product issuers have been hit by plummeting dividend expectations and…
The listing option
Following the banking crisis, the burden of counterparty risk has increased the need for transparency and liquidity in the structured products market. While a move to listing products and exchange-trading helps offer this, how does it affect counterparty…
Regulatorisches Chaos
Leerverkäufe
Fed's near-zero target startles markets
Yesterday's news that the US Federal Reserve would cut its target fund rate to between zero and 0.25% rallied US stocks and sent Treasury bill yields to new lows.
BNP Paribas tempts French investors with latest Zanzibar fund
BNP Paribas has launched the latest version of its capital guaranteed Zanzibar formula fund, which offers investors a potential return of 20% over its two-and-a-half year life. Zanzibar 10 is linked to the performance of 20 major global stocks, banking…
Volatility, correlation and dividend losses sting banks
Volatility and deals based on dividends joined correlation as a major way for banks to lose money in the third quarter of 2008. Like losses on correlation in the first quarter, it remains true that the bigger the structured products operation, the bigger…