Risk management
Taking cover
US energy companies are increasingly taking out terrorism cover, even though none has yet made a claim. This is partly because the cost of policy premiums is falling. But this trend may be under threat. Joe Marsh reports
Agree to disagree
Volatility in the dry freight market has led to the use of derivatives such as forward freight agreements and the development of other innovative products. But will they have a lasting impact on the energy markets? By Hann Ho
Risky liquidations
It is all too easy to go for the simplest solution when liquidating an energy portfolio of different positions. Brett Humphreys discusses some of the problems with appropriately calculating the VAR associated with liquidating a portfolio
A popular punt
Experts remain bullish about the flow of new money into catastrophe cover. But an influx of hedge funds backed increasingly by institutional capital has led to worries of a “domino effect”. By Maria Kielmas
Missing links
For utility companies with income streams linked to inflation, using inflation derivatives to match assets with liabilities easily and relatively cheaply must be the easy option? If only it were that simple. By John Ferry
Nymex to launch two new coal swap futures
The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) will launch two new coal futures contracts – one for eastern coal and one for western coal – on its ClearPort trading platform on October 31.
Bilateral collateral
Until recently, there was little legal protection from foreign investment risk.But the past few years have seen the rise of the bilateral investment treaty(BIT). Matthew Saunders shows how BITs can benefit the energy sector
Found in translation
While risk managers have become focused on value-at-risk and similar risk metrics,these may not be the best way of communicating risk to stakeholders. BrettHumphreys discusses how to improve communications
Earnings at risk
The structure of a typical energy portfolio often contains a different assetand contract mix from the simple derivatives instruments in a more standard portfolio.This requires a different approach to risk. Here, Les Clewlow and ChrisStrickland make the…
RBS offers freight derivatives
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has started offering shipping derivatives, in the form of forward freight agreements (FFAs) linked to the transport costs of bulk commodities to its client base.
Refco hires OTC energy broking team
The European arm of New York-based financial services firm Refco has hired two brokers to form an over-the-counter (OTC) energy derivatives team. Glen Ward and Andrew Riddell join Refco Overseas in London from US broker Amerex’s London office.
DTE Energy Trading opts for Amerex STP solution
DTE Energy Trading, a subsidiary of Detroit-based DTE Energy, has implemented Amerex Energy’s straight-through processing (STP) product, Xcheck - a web-based trade confirmation system that replaces the manual process of generating, transmitting and…
The matrix
Abstract: Portfolio-wide risk management requires a model that accounts correctlyfor the volatility of, and the correlations between electricity forward products.In this paper Kjersti Aas and KjetilK°aresen discuss a joint model for electricityforward…
Worth 1,000 words
There’s little point in spending time and money on extensive risk analysisif your audience is likely to switch off when you show your results. BrettHumphreys shows that sometimes, risk managers need to be able to telltheir stories well
Pulp friction
In the latest of Energy Risk’s series of profiles featuring energy users’ riskmanagement and hedging strategies, Paul Lyon talks to Swedish pulp and papercompany SCA about how it deals with its sizeable energy exposures
SunGard acquires ASP pioneer Kiodex
SunGard has acquired New York based Kiodex, a supplier of web-based risk management, financial reporting, FAS 133 compliance and market data solutions for companies exposed to commodity price risk.
Southern Company promotes finance and risk execs
Atlanta-based energy company Southern Company has promoted Kim Greene to senior vice-president of finance and Mark Lantrip to vice-president of financial planning and enterprise risk management.
Energi E2 chooses KWI for multi-commodity trading
Danish energy production and trading company Energi E2 today signed up for K2, the integrated energy trading and risk management system from London-based KWI. Energi E2 will use the software for multi-commodity trading, with the aim of reducing its…
Tractebel opts for PowerCosts
Tractebel Energy Marketing, a subsidiary of energy company Tractebel, has signed up to use risk trading technology provided by PowerCosts Inc (PCI).
LCH Clearnet launches OTC clearing for UK gas and power
London-based clearing house LCH Clearnet today launched its new clearing service for over-the-counter (OTC) contracts for UK national balancing point natural gas and UK peak and baseload power contracts.
ABN continues BNP raid
ABN Amro has hired five senior energy derivatives executives, two of whom join from BNP Paribas. The move comes just three months after the Dutch bank poached Wayne Harburn and Vincent Chevance from French rival BNP. The pair now serve as global head of…
User Choice winners revealed
Energy Risk's first User Choice Awards have been a tremendous success, with over 450 valid votes showing which vendors and data providers are the preferred suppliers to the energy industry in 2004.
RWE Trading names Senior replacement
Brian Senior, Swindon-based managing director and head of UK energy at RWE Trading, will step down at the end of the year, and Peter Kreuzberg, head of risk management at parent company RWE, will replace him.