Feature
Natural gas caught by an energy price wave
US natural gas prices have been dragged up by crude oil prices despitehaving different fundamentals. Eric Fishhaut at GlobalView Softwarecharts the trend
Pricing volumetric risk
Sergey Kolos and Konstantin Mardanov of Citi Commodities presenta general framework for pricing contracts with volumetric risk.They concentrate on a simple payoff and focus the discussion on themain challenge of such contracts, the pricing of the…
A grounded business
As high fuel costs force many airlines to introduce fuel efficiencyprogrammes and even resort to grounding aircraft, Katie Holliday looksat the likely effects of these measures on jet fuel demand and price inthe coming months
Out of gas
High US gasoline prices are causing Americans to turn to energy-efficientvehicles, a trend that could have an enormous and long-term impact ongasoline demand, some experts say. Kate Fazzini investigates
Every cloud...
The weather derivatives marketcontinues to gain end-user, hedge fundand investor interest. Roderick Bruceexamines the forecast and finds a silverlining on the current Wall Street cloud
Bank of America buys Merrill Lynch for $50 billion
Bank of America announced today it will acquire Merrill Lynch in a $50 billion all-stock deal, rounding off an explosive weekend on Wall Street.
Crunching the numbers
Advances in analytical tools, coupled with a proposed December Ferc ruling requiring US gas providers to publish gas flow data, could herald a revolution in US natural gas trading. Algorithmic trading techniques, similar to the kinds used in the equity…
Implied trees: Valuing exotic options
In this next installment of the Masterclass series, Jim Clark, Les Clewlow and Chris Strickland show how to value exotic options, using a calibrated local volatility surface consistent with market prices
Where to next for gas prices?
US natural gas markets can be tricky to predict, as recent high-profile losses in these markets have shown. However, there are some aspects of price behaviour that are more uniform than might be imagined, writes David Linton of Updata
Valid Assumptions Required: backtesting
Given the large number of assumptions made in calculating a value-at-risk, how can we have confidence in the quality of the resulting calculation? Brett Humphreys looks at using backtesting to evaluate quality.
The outlook for US gas
US natural gas prices, which have fallen by 30% recently, are expected to stabilise at current levels or rise from here, analysts say. Longer term, unconventional reserves could dampen prices. William Rhode reports
The power of now
A real-time position reporting system is becoming an important tool for large energy trading firms. Sirius Solutions’ Brian Shydlo introduces the concepts, challenges and techniques associated with designing and implementing an RTP solution
Changing times at Centrica Energy
Constantine Vaitsas, Atlas transformation director at CentricaEnergy, describes how his company updated its tradingand risk management systems to meet the challenges of therapidly-shifting energy markets
The shape of things to come
As Australia gears up for its emissions trading scheme in 2010, Anthony Collins of the Australian Securities Exchange examines the country’s emissions profile and looks at how the financial markets supporting the scheme are likely to evolve
Getting IT right
With voluntary carbon markets growing rapidly, registries are springing up to facilitate trade. Many companies, however, have not begun the crucial work of developing such internal systems. William J Scotti of Meradia Group offers some suggestions
A path for renewables
Renewable energy needs to become a bigger part of the US energy mix, but there are still a number of hurdles to clear, explains Richard McMahon of the Edison Electric Institute
Power struggle
Forward liquidity has been lacking in the UK power market since 2002, and attempts to improve the situation have met with little success. Roderick Bruce considers what the future may hold for UK power trading
Powerful ambition
Backed by the financial might of Russia's Renova Group, Avelar Energy is investing in conventional and renewable energy assets across western Europe. Avelar's CEO, Igor Akhmerov, tells Roderick Bruce about his company's strategy
Special Report: Energy-intensive corporations
The impact of fuel costs on the bottom line of energy-intensive companies has grown steadily over recent years, but when the price of crude oil spiked to $147 a barrel in mid-July, even the world’s largest industrial corporations began to feel the pinch.
Market focus
Northern Europe’s power generation fleet is set to undergo drastic changes going into the next decade due to regulation and retirements. Point Carbon analysts Paulo Homen Cristo and Mauricio Bermudez-Neubauer outline the potential impacts these factors…
Calibrating trees to the market prices of options
How trinomial trees can be used to calibrate a local volatility model tothe market prices of average price options. By Jim Clark, Les Clewlowand Chris Strickland
Where to now?
Is risk management improving? Are thegas markets safe? Where are oil pricesgoing? Respondents give their opinionsin a survey conducted at Energy RiskUSA. Katie Holliday reports
Grabbing new business
Global exchanges are vying for a largerslice of the growing OTC market, just asincreasing US market regulation couldpush business towards regional exchanges.Catherine Lacoursière reports