Articles by Risk Staff
The case for financially settled contracts
Banks and hedge funds have shied away from trading electricity due to fear and ignorance of the physical nature of the market. But, as Todd Bessemer of Accenture points out, financially settled contracts can avoid the complexity of physical delivery and…
Bearing the brunt
Building contractor bankruptcies of have recently stressed the credit profiles of several power projects in the US. Standard & Poor’s Scott Taylor and Tobias Hsieh look at how sponsors and lenders responded and the effects on the various parties
Delaying the inevitable?
As Reliant Resources celebrates a $6.2 billion refinancing deal, some in the industry say such deals are merely postponing problems that are bound to resurface. James Ockenden reports
Own, sell or restructure
UK and US utilities are presently saddled with a lot of debt, thanks to overcapacity and low power prices. But what’s the best way for these firms to deal with the power plants they don’t need? By Jessica McCallin
Pointing the index finger
Concerns over manipulative energy price reporting has led to a call for price index reform. But many market participants are apprehensive about disclosing detailed confidential data to a third party. James Ockenden looks at developments
Greening the markets
Environmental risks are increasingly being recognised as important financial issues, but the markets are still some way from rewarding companies for good environmental performance, as Kevin Foster discovers
Rethinking European power
European energy firms are seeking to reposition their products and strategies in advance of European Union market deregulation. FAME Energy reports
Models of good behaviour
The development of new models that describe the real dynamics of energy prices have to take into account the behavioural aspects of market players. The problem is how to quantify these aspects. Maria Kielmas reports
Project risk: improving Monte Carlo value-at-risk
Cashflows from projects and other structured deals can be as complicated as we are willing to allow, but the complexities of Monte Carlo project modelling need not complicate value-at-risk calculation. Here, Andrew Klinger imports least-squares valuation…
Pumping up prices
Gasoline prices in the US hit all-time highs in March, and the price is expected to remain high throughout the summer. Kevin Foster looks at the contributing factors
Optimise this
One of the reactions to recent energy trading difficulties has been a shift away from speculative activities towards portfolio optimisation, but what does the term really mean, ask Tim Essaye and Brett Humphreys
The return of Russian crude
Russia has reclaimed its position as the world’s biggest oil producer for the first time in a decade – but uncertainty is still preventing some foreign oil firms from making the investments the country needs to fulfil its potential. Kevin Foster reports
Credit watch
In this month’s analysis of energy firms’ credit quality via Riskmetrics’ CreditGrades tool, Williams and El Paso are among those with tighter spreads
