Risk management
Tools for the trade
Ken Nichols examines the mechanisms available for incorporating credit risk management into an energy company’s portfolio
Avoiding over-exposure
Eurof Thomas finds the European energy market is increasing its focus on credit risk mitigation in the wake of Enron’s demise
Higher or lower?
Kevin Foster looks at how credit rating agencies assign a rating to companies in the energy sector and what kind of factors are taken into account
Demystifying credit risk
Satyan Malhotra, Fred Cohen and Rafael Cavestany formulate an analysis for the measurement of credit risk in the energy industry
A whole new ball game
Enron’s bankruptcy has changed the playing field for credit risk in the energy sector. Kevin Foster reports on the renewed significance of assessing credit quality
Heeding the warning signs
Following the Enron bankruptcy, the use of bond-spread analysis has become increasingly important. Mark Williams looks at how firms can benefit from it
Proper procedures
Rajiv Arora examines the processes necessary for effectively measuring, managing and hedging credit risks
Finding a solution to the credit problem
Peter Stockman of Accenture outlines what energy companies can do, internally, to manage credit more effectively and addresses the potential benefits of participating in a multilateral netting solution for the industry
Utilities renegotiate to survive
For the past 10 years, Argentina’s privatised utilities have been icons of successful energy sector reform. But with the country’s deepening crisis, they face increased difficulties. What can investors do to mitigate such risks, asks Maria Kielmas
A cure for Enron flu
Brett Humphreys discusses recent events in the energy sector and the role risk managers can play in improving the industry
Keeping score
This month Brett Humphreys and Zach Jonasson show how energy trading firms can compare performance using publicly available corporate information
Banks take shelter in derivatives
While some banks have found the weather derivatives market a non-starter, others are doing deals worth more than $100 million. Eurof Thomas reports
Quantifying technical analysis
In the last of our series of tutorials on risk management tools, Richard Weissman provides an overview of technical analysis for the energy business
At the end of the tail
When fat tails are present, extreme value theory provides a framework for estimating value-at-risk at higher confidence levels with greater accuracy than traditional Var methods. Naveen Andrews and Mark Thomas explain
Covering the threat
Since September 11, energy companies have had to re-assess the threat of terrorist attack. Despite the insurance industry introducing new terms and products, some companies remain unprotected, as Joel Hanley discovers
Building blocks for complex probability distributions
Brett Humphreys demonstrates how to construct more accurate return distributions and use them to price options
Counterparty concerns
Following the California crisis and the fall of Enron, energy firms are finally paying more attention to credit risk. Here Fred Cohen, Satyan Malhotra and Rafael Cavestany present some overarching issues senior management must address in implementing an…