Credit risk
All Clear?
Despite a recent large increase in volumes, clearing for commodities remains a contentious issue, with little agreement on what the best business model should be, and insufficient standardisation, say market participants. Rachel Morison investigates
Agora-X launches OTC platform for energy and metals
Agora-X, an electronic trading platform, has launched a new platform for the negotiation, execution and clearing of over-the-counter (OTC) trades in energy and metal contracts.
S&P GSCI Index Commodity Swaps to clear on CME ClearPort
Standard & Poor's has signed a licensing agreement with CME Group to clear swaps on the S&P GSCI Excess Return Index.
ICE offers margin offsets on coal and emissions contracts
ICE Futures Europe has introduced margin offsets between its Coal Futures and Emissions contracts.
VTB Capital enters steam coal market
Russian bank VTB Capital has joined coal trading marketplace globalCOAL to develop its risk management operations in the Pacific region steam coal market.
Uncertain outlook for US public power
Moody's has forecast a stable credit outlook for the US public power electric utility sector in 2009, but says the recession and environmental regulations could present challenges.
FCStone Group increases bad debt provision for energy trading account
FCStone Group expects to incur an additional $60m to $80m pre-tax bad debt provision in connection with previously-reported losses on a significant energy trading account.
Icap clears first ag swap through ICE
Interdealer broker Icap has executed the first ever cleared agricultural swap transaction through IntercontinentalExchange clearing house ICE Clear US. Regulatory approval for such transactions was granted by the CFTC in December last year.
Deutsche Bank joins DME as clearing member
The Dubai Mercantile Exchange's membership committee has today approved Deutsche Bank as the 22nd clearing member of the exchange.
US and European firms in bid for LCH
A consortium of major US and European financial institutions is lining up a bid for London-based derivatives clearing house LCH.Clearnet. Deutsche Bank is acting as adviser on the acquisition, as well as being part of the bidding group.
Give us credit
Credit is widely seen as the biggest challenge facing energy risk managers in 2009, with many believing a radical overhaul of existing risk practices is due. Pauline McCallion investigates
A barren landscape
The credit crunch has changed the investment landscape for major energy infrastructure projects, as companies review capex plans and finance drains away. Roderick Bruce examines the implications
Managing credit risk - Escaping credit risk
Managing credit risk is now one of the most pressing issues in energy trading. Britta Berlinghof, senior credit officer at Nuon, looks at implications of the 2008 crisis, and suggests some best practices in managing credit risk
LNG buyer, beware
LNG aggregators are becoming increasingly active in LNG markets but buyers need to be aware of key issues during purchase negotiations with them, write Susan Farmer and Ben Smith of Fulbright & Jaworski
One stop shop
The world’s biggest commodity exchanges continue to expand the range of products they offer, often into diverse commodity classes. Rachel Morison looks at the benefits and drawbacks for traders as commodity exchanges branch out beyond their traditional…
The fight is on for LCH
US clearing giant The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has insisted that a merger with London-based clearing house LCH.Clearnet would be completed by the end of March, despite a possible rival bid.
Derivatives to move to exchange-cleared platforms in 2009
Financial industry experts are predicting a further shift in how derivatives are traded in 2009, with exchange-traded products expected to take over from OTC derivatives, according to a survey by derivatives technology provider Sophis.
FFA market shifts further towards clearing
Fears of counterparty credit risk have led to a sharp migration towards clearing in the freight derivatives market over the past four months. The ratio of cleared forward freight agreement (FFA) trades to non-cleared over-the-counter trades in the last…
European energy outlook
2008 was a rollercoaster year for Europe's energy markets. Roderick Bruce interviews trading CEOs and other senior executives to see how they envisage Europe's gas & power markets developing in the year ahead
The three flavours of VaR
Each of the three methods of calculating value-at-risk has its pros and cons. Brian Shydlo of Sirius Solutions examines them
Gold and silver trading hits record levels in 2008
Trading in gold and silver reached record levels in 2008, spurred on by the perception of precious metals as a "safe haven" from the credit crisis, according to International Financial Services London (IFSL) Bullion Markets 2009 report.