News
FASB names Robert Herz new chairman
Robert Herz, a senior partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York, has been named as the new chairman of the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the body responsible for derivatives Financial Accounting Standard 133.
Volcker challenges the benefits of financial engineering
Paul Volcker, US Federal Reserve chairman between 1979 and 1987 and present chair of the Independent Oversight Board for embattled Enron auditor Arthur Andersen, has said he is "ambivalent" about the value of financial engineering to the US economy.
Gold hedging falls 4.5% in 2001, says study
Gold hedging fell 4.5% last year, as producers saw little premium from selling gold forward due in part to the low interest rate environment.
Risk 2002 Europe: Derman highlights new behavioural finance direction
A fresh perspective on the risk-reward payoff that drives financial markets can be gained by abandoning the traditional concept of time in financial models, according to Emanuel Derman, a New York-based managing director in Goldman Sachs’ firm-wide risk…
JP Morgan restructures credit and interest rate operations
JP Morgan Chase is creating a global credit management group, incorporating credit risk management, corporate banking and credit lending. The new division is intended to reflect a market trend away from differentiating between different debt instruments…
Fresh calls for OTC energy market regulation
A broad-based coalition of natural gas producers, service companies, consumer groups and utilities is set to call on the US Congress and federal regulatory agencies to regulate the over-the-counter (OTC) energy derivatives market.
Credit Agricole Indosuez boosts credit derivatives team in Asia
Credit Agricole Indosuez has hired Medes Ma as credit trading manager in its credit derivatives team in Hong Kong, according to Loïc Fery, head of credit derivatives Asia.
Algorithmics charts new business strategy
Ron Dembo, founder and chief executive officer of risk management systems provider Algorithmics, has said that within a few years, one third of Algorithmics’ revenue could come from the company’s new alliance with Bloomberg, announced in January…
Atriax fall stirs corporates into action
Online FX trading could be set to soar, according to industry officials, after the collapse of multi-bank platform Atriax removed some obstacles to client take-up. And its rival FXall looks set to benefit most from the surge in uptake, according to a…
HVB invests in equity trading with Front
Hypovereinsbank (HVB), the German private sector bank, has extended its agreement with Stockholm-based trading technology providers Front Capital Systems, an operating unit of SunGard Trading Systems. HVB will implement Front Arena globally for its…
AIB appoints 'special' risk management adviser
Allied Irish Banks has appointed a 'special adviser' on risk management in the wake of fraud investigations into its US subsidiary Allfirst, which lost almost $700 million in currency trading.
Dresdner hires new director in hedge fund sales group
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein has hired Jean Pierre Engele as a director in its equity hedge fund sales team.
SFE appoints market makers for options
The Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) has appointed two official market makers for its SPI 200 options contract in an attempt to enhance the liquidity of the exchange-traded options market.
CDC Ixis hires two ex-Gen Re staff
CDC Ixis Capital Markets has hired two ex-Gen Re staff to its structured derivatives and derivatives marketing teams.
HKEx to delist forex futures
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) will delist its one-day rolling currency futures contracts for euro, yen and sterling on May 21.
Tokio Marine launches TokioWeather
Japan's Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance has launched TokioWeather, the country's first software program that calculates the premium on weather derivatives, according to an official at the insurer in Tokyo.
Fame shake-up under new chief executive officer
Fame Information Services, the New-York based market data vendor, has secured a new investment from majority shareholder, Warburg Pincus, the private equity company. New plans to radically shake up the business have been unveiled by incoming chief…
Iris launches eqTrader
Iris Financial Systems, a provider of trading and risk management systems based in San Francisco, today launched eqTrader, a component-based equity portfolio management system, onto the European market. eqTrader enables portfolio managers to automate…
ABN Amro adds to Asian structured derivatives team
ABN Amro has hired Jamie McWilliam to bolster its structured derivatives team in Hong Kong.
Deutsche launches credit index fund
Deutsche Bank launched the Xavex Dynamic Bond Portfolio Fund today. The new credit fund is index-based and indirectly uses the German bank’s over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk for hedging.
ABN Amro expands FX options team
Dutch investment bank ABN Amro has added three traders to its global foreign exchange options business.
Blackbird completes first FpML trades
Blackbird, the North Carolina-based electronic market-place for over-the-counter interest rate derivatives, has completed the first swap trades on an electronic network using Financial Products Markup Language, or FpML. The deals are the first practical…
Booth to head credit trading at RBS
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has hired Stewart Booth as head of credit trading for the capital markets division of RBS Financial Markets. Booth will not only run trading for credit derivatives, but also RBS' investment grade and high-yield businesses.
Eurex to offer Stoxx sector futures in US
Eurex, the Swiss-German derivatives exchange, will start offering Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Bank and Dow Jones Euro Stoxx Bank index futures in the US today after receiving the regulatory go-ahead.