Opinion
In manipulation cases, "everybody's doing it" is no excuse
From the natural gas index scandal of the early 2000s to the Libor-rigging cases of today, it's always the junior employees who go to jail while bosses walk, Vincent Kaminski observes
Obsession with competition isn't healthy for exchanges
Market operators spend too much time chasing their competitors and launching ‘me too' products when they need to be concentrating on the needs of their customers, the European Energy Exchange's Steffen Köhler argues
Note to Brussels: energy firms are not banks
The Mifid II push to impose capital requirements on commodities firms rests on faulty logic
Potential for catastrophe lurks in complex systems
Human failings can subvert even the most sophisticated systems that companies put in place to prevent disaster, which is why a true risk management culture is important, Vincent Kaminski argues
Quant ideas: Strategic versus tactical risk management
Strategic or enterprise risk management has long been seen as something of a Holy Grail for risk managers. However, the susceptibility of enterprise risk tools to poor quality data means the whole effort is likely to be misguided, argues Krzysztof…
End-user hedging: FMC’s natural gas hedges show benefits of OTC trading
Using a case study of Philadelphia-based FMC Corporation’s natural gas hedges, Ivilina Popova of Texas State University and Betty Simkins of Oklahoma State University show that over-the-counter derivatives are more efficient and effective compared with…
Index investing paper shows gap between theory and reality
The theories of commodity index investment gurus Gary Gorton and K Geert Rouwenhorst have little in common with the experience of real-world investors
Winds of change will continue to roar for energy markets
Ten years ago, economists were sanguine amid the ‘great moderation' and the energy industry was fretting about peaking worldwide oil supplies. There is no predicting the future, writes energy market veteran Vincent Kaminski, but it is sure to be a leap…
Index publishers’ woes endanger market transparency
Price reporting agencies have long warned of the consequences of overbearing regulation on their indexes. It now seems those prophecies are coming true
Is the financialisation of commodities being reversed?
In the past 30 years, a process of financialisation has drastically reshaped the energy and commodity sector. Now, it appears the level of diminishing marginal returns has been reached and that process is shifting into reverse, says energy market veteran…
Energy market liquidity faces threat from regulation
Financial reforms such as Mifid II could undermine years of progress by governments, regulators and industry aimed at building liquid and transparent European energy markets
Economists, like hedge fund traders, need open minds
Failing to spot an emerging crisis may be forgivable, but not learning its lessons and failing to recognise its root causes are far more serious errors. A rapidly changing world needs economists, risk managers and traders with open minds, argues energy…
Intervention isn't needed to secure flexibility in power
Germany needs flexibility to cope with increasing volumes of intermittent renewable power. Contrary to some of the solutions that have been mooted in response, Steffen Köhler of EEX argues the best way to achieve flexibility is by working with market…
Energy scarcity warrants tough response to market abuse
Market manipulation is a problem that is controversial and tricky to define, but it must be taken seriously. That is particularly true in energy markets, where the optimal allocation of resources is more important than ever, argues industry veteran…
EU commodity trading firms face capital punishment
Imposing CRD IV capital rules on trading houses, utilities and oil majors carries huge costs and makes no sense
Gazprom claims highlight stranglehold over European gas
An EC antitrust probe throws Gazprom's dominance in central and eastern Europe into sharp relief, but will do little to alleviate it
Practitioners must take risk measures with a pinch of salt
While useful, it is possible to rely too heavily on conventional risk measures such as volatility and value-at-risk – a point made recently by billionaire US investor Warren Buffett. Every aspiring practitioner should know about their drawbacks, writes…
Dealing with stressed contracts in the energy sector
The recent collapse of crude oil prices is inevitably putting many contracts in the energy sector under strain. Ashley Wright and Richard Steenhof of Norton Rose Fulbright explore the legal options available to energy companies that need to manage the…
EU and US position limits will hit the wrong target
Dodd-Frank and Mifid II won't stop market disorder but will penalise hedgers
Right-way risk can create a false sense of security
Dealers typically find comfort in right-way correlations between their exposure to energy sector counterparties and the creditworthiness of such companies. While this reasoning is unquestionably correct, it may create a false sense of security, writes…
UK power grid needs investment to keep lights on in future
The lights stayed on in the UK last winter, despite thin supply margins and outages at important base-load power plants. But the country’s capacity crunch isn’t going away, and utilities will have to work harder to optimise their output in future, argues…
Energy stirs political passions around the globe
The politics of energy are just as fascinating as the physical processes behind it, and are rarely subtle
Traders and politicians can learn from dead pilots
Flying a plane requires calm execution, attention to risk and counterintuitive strategies to avoid disaster
Market manipulation push is widening the compliance gap
European and US energy regulators must decide how aggressive they wish to be when it comes to enforcing fraud-based anti-manipulation rules. Taking things too far could harm market efficiency and stifle the benefits of competition, argue Shaun Ledgerwood…