Japan
West must not repeat Japan’s fiscal mistakes, says Nomura economist
Nomura chief economist Richard Koo warns the US and European economies face double-dip recession and a prolonged period of economic stagnation if stimulus is cut too soon.
Tocom relaxes market rules to ease foreign trade
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange has eased rules for foreign commodity brokers wanting to trade on its platform in a move that is expected to boost volumes, Katie Holliday reports
FVC Custom Indexes
US and UK benchmark indexes declined sharply in June but recovered their losses in July, while the FVC’s global protected index recorded a rise in June
HSBC on global hiring spree
HSBC has made a series of hires across foreign exchange trading and sales in Asia and Europe, it confirmed today (August 17).
Morgan Stanley hires new Japan e-trading head
Takayuki Saito will become Japan head of Morgan Stanley electronic trading, which offers an algorithmic trading suite and various direct market access (DMA) strategies.
Asia Risk 15: Kenji Fujii, Mizuho Securities
Japanese financial institutions have faced severe tests during the past 15 years including rogue trading scandals, huge non-performing loans and a need to adopt aggressive regulatory rules. Kenji Fujii maps out these challenges and indicates how they…
Asia Risk 15: Noboru Terada, GPIF
Noboru Terada presided over Japan’s $1.35 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund in the mid-1990s, where he overhauled the fund’s governance structure and portfolio management approach. He speaks to Joti Mangat about Japan’s pension industry
Asia Risk 15: Interdealer brokers in quest for deeper liquidity
Interdealer brokers have continued to build ever-deeper pools of liquidity in Asian markets as they have forged profitable businesses from Asia’s fragmented economies. While moves to electronic platforms are gaining momentum, relationships are still…
Asia Risk 15: Exchanges have profited from derivatives but face new threats
Asian exchanges have undergone a radical transformation during the past decade as systems were overhauled, new derivatives instruments traded and new ventures formed. Yet perhaps their biggest challenge awaits them. Jill Wong reports
FTSE and CNBC launch Asia-Pacific blue-chip stock index
Index provider FTSE and news group CNBC have partnered in a venture to bring a blue-chip regional benchmark index that includes Japan to the Asia-Pacific market
RBS lands BAML structured products sales team
RBS hires four Bank of America Merrill Lynch sales staffers in Hong Kong, including Abhinav Gorawara
RBC: Japanese limits on margin trading will weigh on Aussie/yen cross in August
Japanese plans to limit leverage on margin trading to a maximum of 50 times collateral in August could affect Australian dollar/yen cross rates.
Taking on variable risk
The variable annuity business in Asia continues to attract banks and insurance companies. The potential market is of a staggering size which would far surpass the volumes in the US or Japan, the two biggest users of the products. Harry Thompson…
Moodys: Japan SME CDO ratings to show stable to positive trends
Moody's report says large increase in Japan SME defaults unlikely as economy recovers
High-net-worth investment in structured products set to rise
The latest Capgemini/Merrill Lynch World Wealth Report predicts greater investment in structured products on the back of a recovery in high-net-worth investors' finances
Asian supervisors look to central clearing
Clearing the way
Asia plays catch-up on CCPs
While European and US regulators blaze a trail in over-the-counter derivatives reform, Asian supervisors have been much more circumspect. Some are now exploring the use of central clearing but many are still wrestling with how best to implement it. Matt…
FVC Custom Indexes
In Europe, the income index is the best performer over the past six years when compared with the accelerated and protected variants. Not so in Japan, where the accelerated index tops the trio of indexes as best performing. In both regions, the protected…
Sovereign ratings on UK, US, Japan under fire from credit investors
After Greece, Portugal and Spain suffered rating downgrades in April due to escalating fiscal problems, investors ask if the same standards are being applied to advanced economies.
Now you PRDC them...
Power-reverse dual-currency notes have represented something of a Trojan horse for dealers. The hybrid structures have been popular for more than a decade among a wide range of Japanese investors, from regional banks to pension funds. But now the strain…
A reversal of power
Investor demand for power reverse dual currency structures has fallen off a cliff as these once high coupon-paying instruments have morphed into zero coupon bonds with lock-in periods of up to 30 years. Issuers have also incurred significant costs. Is…