Risk management
Editor
"The FFA market offers enough arbitrage opportunities to have a hedge-fund manager in clover"
Staying one step ahead
Picking the right investment opportunities will never be a precise science, but a combination of global forecasting and risk management has enabled US Global Investors to become one of the most successful US mutual funds in the energy space. Its chief…
The clearing challenge
Growing over-the-counter trade in the energy markets, much of it from hedge funds, coupled with exceptional price volatility, could test the current clearing system to the limit, warns independent consultant Chris Cook
The dragon’s revenge
In the second article on the pitfalls of hedging, Neil Palmer considers one of the risks of managing options: dynamic hedging. He shows there is an awful lot that can go wrong in the quest for perfect risk elimination
North AmericanEnergy Forum
Leading energy market players discuss market trends, credit risk management and the future of the energy sector market, with a special focus on Canada
Stateside summit
Adding to the success of Energy Risk Europe in March, last month’s Energy Risk USA conference raised some lively debate. ERM, credit risk and the problems facing quant analysts were among the hot topics. Oliver Holtaway reports
Freight looks forward
Freight derivatives are increasingly seen as a key risk management tool. Banks and hedge funds are also trading them. But will the growth in liquidity continue, or is this another false start for the market? Stella Farrington reports
The ABC of PCA
Often, the costs associated with implementing advanced statistical models can outweigh the potential benefits. Brett Humphreys shows how to smooth and speed up choppy simulations using principal components analysis
Commodity kickers
Retail investors are showing greater interest in commodity-linked products. but most of the structures launched in Europe so far have been based on small, tailor-made baskets. By Patrick Fletcher
UK business paying £1bn/year too much for energy
UK businesses are failing to manage energy buying efficiently and as a result are exposed to volatile prices, losing up to £1 billion ($1.81 billion) a year, a new survey has found.
GlobalView technology to support ConfirmHub
US-based GlobalView Software has been chosen as the exclusive technology provider to ConfirmHub, a joint venture by brokers Icap, Amerex Energy and Prebon Energy. ConfirmHub is a post-execution, straight-through processing (STP) trade-confirmation…
Awards
Welcome to the annual Energy Risk awards, celebratingthe talent,innovation and enthusiasm that forms thebackbone of this industry.
Contract killers
Hidden risks can lurk in unexpected areas – such as the contracting process. Brett Humphreys and Brett Friedman discuss how risk managers must look beyondsimple value-at-risk measures and find other potentially hidden exposures
Buyer beware
Risk-management software development is still struggling to recover from slashed budgets after the Enron debacle. So before choosing a new system, buyers should look closely at five critical areas, writes Salim Jabbour
Slaying the dragon
In the first of a two-part series on hedging risk, NeilPalmer looks at the effectsof imperfect correlation on basis risk, and finds that unless you have a perfecthedge, you may just have to learn to live with risk
Counterparty risk
Eduardo Canabarro, Evan Picoult and TomWilde present a new approach to derivativescounterparty credit risk that can affect utilities using a onefactor conditionalindependence framework, deriving a formula for theratio of ‘expected positive exposure’ to…
The vendors’view
Energy software vendors are the first to admit they suffered financially fromthedownturn in the markets, but most stress they’ve developed innovative solutionsdespite the slump. Energy Risk put Salim Jabbour’s concerns to vendors
CCRO data hub update to follow Energy Risk USA conference
The US-based Committee of Chief Risk Officers (CCRO) will give a presentation in Houston next Wednesday, May 11, on the energy data hub it is developing. The session will follow the last presentation of the Energy Risk USA 2005 conference and will take…
All bases covered
In 1997, Norwegian energy firm Statoil implemented an enterprise-wide risk management system with the help of Goldman Sachs. Eight years on, few energy companies can rival its approach. Joe Marsh discovers why
Tentative steps
Algeria’s state-owned oil company Sonatrach is about to become the first oil and gas company within Opec to roll out an independent risk management programme to cover its crude oil and gas sales. Stella Farrington reports
Icap-Hyde hires Toyne to head tanker FFA broking
Icap-Hyde, a London-based joint forward freight and shipping derivatives-broking venture between broker Icap and shipping broker JE Hyde, has added to its team. Simon Toyne has joined as director of tanker forward freight agreements (FFAs), responsible…
An energetic debate
Enterprise-wide risk measurement and management, regulatory issues and pricing and hedging strategies were the hot topics this year at Energy Risk Europe in Amsterdam. James Ockenden and Joe Marsh report