News
Financial transaction tax could raise energy company hedging costs
FTT will increase hedging costs for energy companies and deter them from trading with financial counterparties, firms say
Platts and Shell seek support for competing Brent crude reforms
Oil major Shell and price reporting agency Platts offer rival plans to fix market distortions in Brent crude oil
Tankard natural gas indexes greeted with scepticism
Traders show little enthusiasm for Tankard indexes of European natural gas, despite ongoing concerns about the reliability of assessments by price reporting agencies. Gillian Carr reports
Bank commodity VAR remains muted in Q4
Fourth-quarter results show low risk appetite continues to prevail at banks, reflecting tougher capital requirements and a continuing lack of trading opportunities, writes Jay Maroo
Energy firms scramble to avoid swap dealer label
Switching to futures and rewriting corporate websites could help reluctant energy companies avoid having to register as swap dealers under Dodd-Frank, reports Alexander Osipovich
Remit definition of insider information “pretty obvious”, says Acer director
Pototschnig dismisses concerns of energy firms over European Regulation on Energy Market Integrity and Transparency
Morgan Stanley loses head of commodity research
New York-based head of commodity research departs for Canadian pension fund
Sommers blasts CFTC's approach to Dodd-Frank
Compliance timetable for new swap rules was too aggressive, says outgoing CFTC commissioner
Commodity correlation returning to pre-2008 levels, say analysts
The tight link between commodities and equities is easing as firms become less worried about macro shocks, say analysts
Isda seeks to dispel speculation myths with commodity website
Isda turns up the volume in controversial debate over commodity speculation and position limits
Railroad indexing to API 2 could help US coal exporters manage risk
Link to API 2 could make exports look more attractive and reflects growing participation in coal market by US firms
PRAs push back against potential EU rules on benchmarks
Price reporting agencies among the most vehement critics of potential EU rules on benchmark indexes
Low crude volatility to bolster spread trades, say analysts
Market participants expected to shy away from outright bets on crude oil as low volatility persists
'Uneconomic trading' at issue in Barclays power dispute
Barclays seeks to defend itself against power market manipulation allegations by contesting regulator’s pursuit of uneconomic trading
LME hires senior executives for clearing effort
Citi swipes Ron Ruffini from Barclays; Gunvor appoints Julien La Chon as head of development for Asia; Koch Supply & Trading makes Rosario Sgarioto LNG head
Carbon price sinks as EU vote is delayed
The European Commission is proposing to cut the supply of European Union Allowances to bolster prices, but delays to the plan are causing prices to sink, reports Gillian Carr
Nucor praised for pursuing natural hedge
US steel maker’s acquisition of natural gas assets is seen as viable long-term hedge and an alternative to derivatives
JP Morgan deserved “a very severe penalty”, says Ferc chairman
Tougher enforcement stance is justified and paying dividends, claims Ferc chairman
Firms shy away from public utilities despite CFTC relief
No-action letter not enough to convince counterparties to trade with public utilities
CFTC clarification on physical gas deals welcomed
CFTC answers concerns over treatment of physical gas storage and transportation agreements under Dodd-Frank
Threat of downgrade hangs over North American power firms
Low natural gas prices, weak power demand and rising costs put pressure on credit ratings
Impact on EUAs from back-loading will be muted, say analysts
European Commission proposes back-loading a larger volume of European Union Allowances than expected, yet analysts downplay price impact
People moves in energy markets
Energy Risk catches up with the latest appointments, promotions and departures in global commodity markets
Commodity position limits cause Mifid II confusion
Mifid II is set to impose position limits for commodity derivatives, but recent drafts are sowing confusion over who will be responsible for setting them, writes Jay Maroo