Market risk
Imarex to launch electronic Time Charter Equivalent contracts
Norwegian freight derivatives exchange Imarex will introduce the first electronic Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) contracts in October, the company has announced.
Goldman and Morgan become bank holding companies
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have applied to the US Federal Reserve to become bank holding companies, in response to the crisis that has seen the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America.
Linn Energy terminates $68m of commodity contracts with Lehman
US oil and gas company Linn Energy has terminated all of its commodity derivative contracts with Lehman Brothers, and has replicated and re-hedged each of the contracts at identical strike prices with an unnamed counterparty, Linn Energy announced.
Enhanced trading platform launched in US
Elysian Systems has released a new version of its electronic trading platform, called Liquid 4, which can accommodate online trading in energy, commodities, fixed income and financial instruments.
CFTC report on swap dealer and index trader activity
Following an unprecedented survey of off-exchange swap dealers and commodity index funds carried out in June 2008, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has made some recommendations on activities of swap dealers and commodity index traders.
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.
Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy protection
Lehman Brothers has filed for bankruptcy. In an announcement early this morning, the firm said it intended to file a petition under Chapter 11 with the Southern District Court of New York.
Reliance establishes new trading arms
India’s oil & gas company Reliance Industries, part of Reliance Group, is to set up two new trading subsidiaries in London and Singapore.
India’s NCDEX launches futures contract in thermal coal
India’s National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) today launched a thermal coal futures contract.
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
Minor metals to make LME debut
Futures contracts for minor metals molybdenum and cobalt will be launched on the London Metal Exchange (LME) in the second half of 2009, the LME has announced today.
Icap to broker base metals on the LME
Interdealer broker Icap has launched a London Metals Exchange (LME) base metals broking business.
Tullett Prebon combines voice and screen trading for energy markets
Interdealer broker Tullett Prebon has introduced an internet trading platform for the Ontario power market and both the Western US and Canadian gas markets that combines voice and electronic brokering.
RGGI futures competition hots up
As the fledgling US Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative finds its feet, is there sufficient liquidity for two exchange-traded futures contracts? Katie Holliday finds out. Additional reporting by Roderick Bruce