Energy Risk
Parity launches new platform
Parity Energy, a New York-based brokerage, has launched the latest version of its online trading platform, Parity Energy Platform 3.0 (PEP 3.0).
APX Group buys Endex
Amsterdam-based exchange operator APX Group has purchased fellow Dutch energy exchange company Endex for an undisclosed fee, and plans to merge the two businesses.
EDF to buy British Energy
French utility EDF has agreed to pay £12 billion for nuclear generator British Energy. EDF has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Centrica that will allow the UK utility to take a 25% stake in British Energy for £3 billion.
CFTC to examine crude oil volatility
Record price movements in the price of crude oil earlier this week have drawn further scrutiny from regulators.
Goldman and Morgan become bank holding companies
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have applied to the US Federal Reserve to become bank holding companies, in response to the crisis that has seen the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America.
Imarex to launch electronic Time Charter Equivalent contracts
Norwegian freight derivatives exchange Imarex will introduce the first electronic Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) contracts in October, the company has announced.
Merrill Lynch European power market expansion plans remain in place
Merrill Lynch’s plans to expand further into European power markets remain unaffected by the bank’s impending merger with Bank of America, says Rupen Tanna, managing director and co-head of commodities.
Linn Energy terminates $68m of commodity contracts with Lehman
US oil and gas company Linn Energy has terminated all of its commodity derivative contracts with Lehman Brothers, and has replicated and re-hedged each of the contracts at identical strike prices with an unnamed counterparty, Linn Energy announced.
Gulf Coast refineries resuming output at reduced rate
Many US Gulf Coast refineries which shut ahead of Hurricane Ike should be operating within a week following site damage reports, according to a Platts report.
Enhanced trading platform launched in US
Elysian Systems has released a new version of its electronic trading platform, called Liquid 4, which can accommodate online trading in energy, commodities, fixed income and financial instruments.
Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy protection
Lehman Brothers has filed for bankruptcy. In an announcement early this morning, the firm said it intended to file a petition under Chapter 11 with the Southern District Court of New York.
Bank of America buys Merrill Lynch for $50 billion
Bank of America announced today it will acquire Merrill Lynch in a $50 billion all-stock deal, rounding off an explosive weekend on Wall Street.
Almost 1.3 MBD US Gulf oil output still down
Some 99.6% of the US Gulf of Mexico’s oil output of 1.3 million barrels a day remained down Sunday, according to the US Minerals Management Service (MMS), following hurricane Ike which hit the Houston area on Saturday.
CFTC report on swap dealer and index trader activity
Following an unprecedented survey of off-exchange swap dealers and commodity index funds carried out in June 2008, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has made some recommendations on activities of swap dealers and commodity index traders.
Bank of America buys Merrill Lynch for $50 billion
Bank of America announced today it will acquire Merrill Lynch in a $50 billion all-stock deal, rounding off an explosive weekend on Wall Street.
Reliance establishes new trading arms
India’s oil & gas company Reliance Industries, part of Reliance Group, is to set up two new trading subsidiaries in London and Singapore.
Getting IT right
With voluntary carbon markets growing rapidly, registries are springing up to facilitate trade. Many companies, however, have not begun the crucial work of developing such internal systems. William J Scotti of Meradia Group offers some suggestions
The shape of things to come
As Australia gears up for its emissions trading scheme in 2010, Anthony Collins of the Australian Securities Exchange examines the country’s emissions profile and looks at how the financial markets supporting the scheme are likely to evolve
Changing times at Centrica Energy
Constantine Vaitsas, Atlas transformation director at CentricaEnergy, describes how his company updated its tradingand risk management systems to meet the challenges of therapidly-shifting energy markets
The power of now
A real-time position reporting system is becoming an important tool for large energy trading firms. Sirius Solutions’ Brian Shydlo introduces the concepts, challenges and techniques associated with designing and implementing an RTP solution
The outlook for US gas
US natural gas prices, which have fallen by 30% recently, are expected to stabilise at current levels or rise from here, analysts say. Longer term, unconventional reserves could dampen prices. William Rhode reports
Valid Assumptions Required: backtesting
Given the large number of assumptions made in calculating a value-at-risk, how can we have confidence in the quality of the resulting calculation? Brett Humphreys looks at using backtesting to evaluate quality.