Commodities
Evolution to open Calgary office in July
Energy broker Evolution Markets will open an office in Calgary, the centre of the Canadian energy-trading markets, in early July.
Just a seasonal swing?
US natural gas market volatility is keeping trading volume high. But is this just a seasonal phenomenon or part of a long-term trend? Catherine Lacoursiere reports
UBS expands energy group and starts trading oil in Canada
UBS Commodities Canada moved into larger Calgary offices in May to accommodate its expanding energy-trading team, including a shift into crude oil. The firm, part of investment bank UBS, has hired its first crude oil trader, its first options trader and…
Peaking patterns
Weather is increasingly affecting power market dynamics, with prices as variableas the temperatures. But the volatility has spawned a growing variety of methodsofmanaging peak load demand. By Catherine Lacoursiere
RWE Trading reorganises coal, oil and freight ops
Alex Thistlethwayte has joined RWE Trading, part of German utility RWE, as head of a new department, Global Commodities Trading. He was previously director of oil trading at Deutsche Bank in London and has also traded natural gas at BP. The move is part…
TFS continues expansion with Arc Oil purchase
Connecticut-based broker TFS is in fierce expansion mode: yesterday it announced its purchase of oil broker Arc Oil, an oil broker headquartered in Houston. This follows TFS’s recent opening of a Houston office and re-entering US coal and emissions…
Point Carbon buys Natsource Scandinavia’s analysis unit
Carbon emissions consultancy Point Carbon has bought Natsource-Tullett Scandinavia, Europe’s largest power and gas analysis firm, but will disband Natsource’s Oslo brokerage operations. The move adds power and natural gas market analysis to Point Carbon…
All bases covered
In 1997, Norwegian energy firm Statoil implemented an enterprise-wide risk management system with the help of Goldman Sachs. Eight years on, few energy companies can rival its approach. Joe Marsh discovers why
Turbulent times
The new Renewable Sources Act obliges German utility companies to buy all the wind power generated in the country on any one day. And it is adding a new volatility to the German power market. By Stella Farrington
Hanging on at the top
This year’s User Choice Awards demonstrate that quality counts. In a fast-changing market, the top vendors and packages have managed to stay ahead of the pack. But the winners cannot rest easy. With IT budgets deflated, it’s a competitive market, and…
Merrill Lynch starts building coal desk
Matt Schicke, former director of coal trading at Michigan-based DTE Energy, has joined Merrill Lynch to build a US coal trading desk from its Houston office. As vice-president, he is initiating steps to trade coal, said Merrill spokeswoman Terez Hanhan.
A good bet for 2005
2005 is forecast to be a tough year for many hedge funds, but the saturation of some of their traditional markets could prove a boon to the energy sector, finds Stella Farrington
Evolution expands gas and power desk
US broker Evolution Markets has hired two brokers for the North American natural gas and power desk it launched in October. Corey Geraghty and Trenton Davis now broker gas and electricity options from the company headquarters in White Plains, New York.
TriOptima trims six companies' oil swap portfolios
TriOptima, a Swedish company dedicated to reducing over-the-counter swap portfolios, has expanded its service into energy. The company has terminated its first group of multilateral OTC oil derivative swaps, with six companies eliminating unnecessary…
European Commission blocks acquisition of Gás de Portugal
The European Commission has blocked the joint acquisition of Gás de Portugal (GDP), the country’s incumbent gas company, by Energias de Portugal (EDP) and Italian energy company Eni, because it would impede competition.
Merrill Lynch sees oil staying high in 2005
The oil price, which has roughly doubled since the start of 2000, and risen by over 60% this year, is likely to remain historically high in 2005 due to a structural shift in the market, said Robin Batchelor, co-fund manager of Merrill Lynch’s World…
Weather wisdom with risk management
Mark Tawney from Swiss Re spells out the implications of not keeping an eye to the weather
Energy traders urged to pre-register for risk poll
Energy traders wishing to take part in Energy Risk/Risk’s 12th annual Commodity Rankings can now pre-register to vote to avoid missing important voter updates and deadlines in the magazines’ annual survey of the energy business.
Ten years at the top
A decade of commodity rankings has seen many players come and go – but as James Ockenden finds, the top two investment banks, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, have been solid all the way
A legal rollercoaster
US-based Polygon wants to see a better restructuring deal for British Energy’sshareholders. But the hedge fund faces a struggle to prevent the UK nuclear powergenerator from delisting. Joe Marsh reports
Evolution starts brokering US natural gas and power
US coal and emissions broker Evolution Markets has expanded its services to include over-the-counter (OTC) brokerage services for North American natural gas and power. Jeff Rosenzweig has joined as managing director of the new gas and power desk, and…
Ameren on course to buy Illinois Power Company
US energy company Ameren Corp has received Illinois Commerce Commission approval to buy Illinois Power Company (IP) from Houston energy company Dynegy. The $2.3 billion deal – which is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter – still requires…
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.
Teething troubles
Following decades of cloistered state control and the exit of a number of largeUS players, the Australian power market is going through a period of hiccups. Paul Lyon reports on the outlook for the country’s electricity sector