Market risk
Keeping up with the markets
The power trading sector has changed substantially in the past 12 months. Have trading and risk management software vendors kept pace? Kevin Foster reports
Teething problems in Texas
Advocates of retail electricity deregulation cite Texas as evidence that competitioncan succeed. But big risks remain for power marketers, finds Kevin Foster
More power to the banks
Banks now have greater freedom to participate in derivatives markets based on physical commodities thanks to two recent ruling by US regulators. As a result, the balance of power looks set to shift from Houston to New York. By Paul Lyon
Lessons in loaning
Lenders and borrowers alike are becoming ever more innovative at a worrying time for energy company financing. But will the new ideas catch on? Paul Lyon reports
Scaling the credit cliff
How are designers of credit risk software reacting to the new credit realities of the energy trading sector? Kevin Foster talks to some leading companies to find out
Standing out from the crowd
Credit risk management groups can differentiate themselves from their competitors through their different capabilities. Randy Baker and Brett Humphreys explain how
The cost of deregulation
US electricity deregulation does not necessarily make prices more competitive, as is shown in this study of New England power prices by Logical Information Machines
How to run a market
Former-derivatives-trader-turned-author Frank Partnoy wants to see tougher accounting standards and risk disclosures to deter corporate crooks. But are the regulators listening? Maria Kielmas reports
ABN Amro makes global OTC oil and gas drive...
Dutch bank ABN Amro last month started to offer its clients oil and gas hedgingservices, as part of its financial markets business which incorporates debt capitalmarkets, structured lending and risk management activities.
Energy firms turn to overlay
Energy companies face a tough future over pension provisions – a problem that could well exacerbate credit deterioration. Paul Lyon finds that innovative use of currency overlay could provide some form of refuge
Seeking an end to manipulation
Renewed allegations of manipulation of natural gas pipeline capacity in the US have been partly blamed on regulatory complacency. How can regulators put an end to the problems dogging the gas markets? Catherine Lacoursière reports
...while AEP exits Nordic energy trading
Ohio-based American Electric Power (AEP) last month completed its exit from theNordic energy trading market. The management team responsible for AEP’sactivities in the Nordic region will assume AEP’s Nordic trading book,office leases and related…
US power sector decline slows, says Fitch
The US power sector has seen little more than a slowing in the rate of its declinein 2003, said Richard Hunter, managing director of rating agency Fitch’sglobal power group, in May.
Energy firms find succour
US energy company debt has reached critical levels, with nervous investors and banks working hard to keep these companies afloat. But Paul Lyon finds the secretive hedge fund industry could also lend a helping hand
David Mooney
With 34 trading offices active in 40 countries, Swiss commodity trading house Trafigura is no small concern. But while the firm – perhaps best known for its oil, petroleum products and metals trading activities – employs some 600 energy traders worldwide…
Kiodex adds more energy forward curves
Kiodex, an energy risk management technology company based in New York, willadd five new forward curves to its global market data offering, it told delegatesat EPRM’s May congress in Houston.
Ferc calls for risk manager vigilance
The director of the office of market oversight and investigations (OMOI) at theUS Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc), has urged energy risk managersto alert his office to any suspicious market practices.
Detecting market transitions: from backwardation to contango and back
Svetlana Borovkova looks at detecting market transitions between backwardation and contango states using the forward curve. In this first part of a two-part article, she introduces two change indicators, which she applies to oil futures prices. Next…
Buying your way out of trouble
UK high-street retailer Littlewoods has saved £1.5 million through an energy risk management and procurement programme. Utilyx’s Nigel Cornwall looks at how other companies can reduce energy costs through purchase programmes
Power asset prices plummet
The energy price boom may be over, but bargain hunters beware: the predicted sale of US generation assets is yet to occur. Kevin Foster reports
Own, sell or restructure
UK and US utilities are presently saddled with a lot of debt, thanks to overcapacity and low power prices. But what’s the best way for these firms to deal with the power plants they don’t need? By Jessica McCallin
The case for financially settled contracts
Banks and hedge funds have shied away from trading electricity due to fear and ignorance of the physical nature of the market. But, as Todd Bessemer of Accenture points out, financially settled contracts can avoid the complexity of physical delivery and…
Applying modern portfolio theory to optimal gas purchasing
Yijun Du and Xiaorui Hu present a general framework for applying modern portfolio theory to optimal natural gas procurements. They show that successful natural gas procurement involves determining the optimal allocation between fixed-price and floating…