Market risk
Europe - An uncertain future
European natural gas demand is expected to rise in the next three decades. But, as Anouk Honore finds, the overall picture is not easy to predict, and depends on what happens in individual countries - particularly Italy and Spain
Prepay agreements - The ten-year pitch
Standard & Poor's recently passed the $1 billion mark in terms of natural gas prepayment deals it has rated since 2003. Joe Marsh looks at how these work and why municipal utilities might want to consider them
Coal turns a corner
Asian coal-trading is still proving a tough nut to crack. But the underlying market is developing, and a growing need for better risk management suggests it is only a matter of time before a paper market takes off
BarCap takes on Duke trading book
Barclays Capital will acquire and manage the bulk of Duke Energy North America’s (DENA) power and gas derivatives contracts, as part of parent Duke Energy Corp’s takeover of US utility Cinergy.
Weather fund Pyrenees closes, traders set up weather desk at Sempra
Weather hedge fund Pyrenees Capital Management closed at the end of October, a year after its launch, and two of the company’s three staff have moved to energy trader Sempra Commodities to set up a new weather desk.
Nice price for Ice as exchange floats
Atlanta-based energy-trading platform IntercontinentalExchange (Ice) hit the ground running as a public company today, pricing at $26 per share – at the top of its $24-$26 target range.
Utilities shift towards longer-term hedging
US and Canadian regulated utilities are increasingly looking to put on longer-term hedges, even more than three years out in some cases. Such was one of the findings of an informal survey of the audience at a utility risk-management conference in Chicago…
Powernext launches weather indexes
French electricity exchange Powernext – in partnership with Météo France (the French meteorological office) – today started offering national European temperature indexes.
Counting on coal
NRG Energy's move to buy Texas Genco seems a wise one for a company with strong dark-spread exposure, but it has its risks, despite the target company being backed by an active hedging programme. Joe Marsh reports
National Bank of Canada reunites heavy hitters for energy push
National Bank of Canada (NBC) has expanded its energy derivatives team in Calgary with three new managing directors, with the aim of attracting more utility and energy-consumer customers.
Papering over the cracks
High energy prices are forcing pulp-and-paper makers to take action against falling profits, yet most companies are still shying away from energy price hedging. But that situation may be slowly changing. Joe Marsh reports
Top tips and dirty tricks
You don't have to be a genius to work as a quant - though it helps - but you do have to know a few tricks of the trade. So where should aspiring energy quants start? Neil Palmer offers some suggestions
A matter of principal
Developing term structure models can be tricky, as unknown factors and non-observable variables can affect futures prices. But principal components analysis is useful in tackling these problems. Here, Delphine Lautier uses PCA to pin down price movements…
Playing power games
Thanks to increasing consolidation, it seems the country-specific energy exchange will soon be a thing of the past in Europe. But is this level of competition premature?
Congestion charges
As the US' premier regional transmission organisation, PJM Interconnection's pricing and transmission congestion models must be foolproof. Sandy Fielden describes how they work and the associated risk management mechanisms available to participants
The right of refusal
Traders have learned that giving away free financial options can be costly. However, free options can take many forms. Brett Humphreys and Tamara Weinert discuss the value of a risk management option that can easily be given away
Regulating Germany
Matthias Kurth was appointed Germany's first energy regulator in June of this year. The decisions he makes as the new Federal Network Agency president will be felt throughout European energy markets. He speaks to Oliver Holtaway
Francis Van Der Velde
Francis Van Der Velde of Brussels-based Fuel Purchasing & Consulting is more aware than most of the pain airlines are suffering
How long will the shopping spree last?
China appears set on a programme of foreign energy asset acquisition. Maria Kielmas looks into the implications for the energy industry
Carbon complexities
The EU ETS adds price complexity to European energy markets and the trend towards pan-European markets means far more complex models will be needed to model carbon risk, writes Bjorn Brochmann