Risk management
Coping with setbacks
Most risk managers and employees in energy companies are familiar with the concepts of market risk and credit risk, but operational risk is receiving more attention in corporate boardrooms these days, writes Sandy Fielden
Valid Assumptions Required: aggregation
In the first article of this series, in which Brett Humphreys questions some of the assumptions and decisions that go into the calculation of value-at-risk, he focuses on portfolio aggregation.
The chain gang
Supply chain management is becoming more important within energy companies, making liaising between the supply chain manager and the risk manager essential in order to avoid compromising operational risk, writes Raees Lakhani
Full steam ahead
The rising cost of shipping fuel is causing more and more shipowners and commodity merchants to consider risk management strategies, and some sophisticated marine fuel trades are taking place as a result, writes Barry Parker
Leading the energy software revolution
The ETRM software industry is enjoying a long-awaited boom, meaning exciting developments are in store for energy trading and risk management, writes Stella Farrington
The rise of mechanistic hedging
Utility hedging gains wider acceptance, but companies still need to work harder to eliminate pure price-view hedging, writes Leigh Parkinson of RiskAdvisory
March 2006 - Riding the rollercoaster
US natural gas prices have proven to be susceptible to weather-related price swings. Andy Weissman looks at what a risk manager should consider when designing a price risk management program
CME eyes energy market
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange plans to launch energy futures contracts once its non-competitive agreement with the New York Mercantile Exchange expires this summer.
SGX and CBOT to partner on commodities
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) will launch a joint commodities derivative exchange early this year, marking a step towards fulfilling SGX's strategy to be an Asian gateway. Joe Marsh reports
Credit - Energising credit
Traditional credit instruments can be used to mitigate credit risk in the energy sector, despite the unique risk management challenges, says Chris Coovrey
Commodities Count 2006
The recent swell in energy market participants means the battle for dominance has never been fiercer, but the increased competition means ever-more sophisticated product offerings, finds Stella Farrington
Questioning dollar cost averaging
When implementing a hedging strategy, the popular dollar cost averaging approach may sometimes be less prudent than the lump-sum method for managing energy risk, writes Tim Simard
Correlation - The energy price factor
Navneet Arora provides empirical evidence that significant correlations exist between the movements of commodity prices and the credit quality of firms in the energy sector
Introduction - New frontiers in credit
Rising energy prices have thrown the issue of credit into stark relief, and credit lines are being used up increasingly quickly. How should credit managers react?
The advantage of ASPs
Web-based energy-trading solutions offer certain advantages over server-based systems, says Thurstan Bannister. In a later issue, we will publish an article setting out the benefits of server-based software
Package deals
Banks have been choosing off-the-shelf fully integrated systems for energy trading and risk management. But some feel the available software still falls short
OpenLink, Triple Point sign more bank clients
Rival US-based energy trading software suppliers OpenLink and Triple Point Technology (TPT) both signed big new clients this year, increasing their dominance of the energy software market for the banking sector.
Duke Energy to adopt Cinergy trading approach
Following the transfer of its energy derivatives portfolio to Barclays Capital, Duke Energy is targeting a lower-risk trading strategy pioneered by Cinergy, the company it is buying
New GlobalView head makes u-turns on hubs
Contrary to reports in September, new GlobalView chief Steve Gott says he remains committed to the Energy Data Hub and ConfirmHub ventures. Following a management overhaul, it seems it is business as usual