Market risk
A Spanish power struggle
A takeover bid by gas distributor Gas Natural for power utility Iberdrola may provide the impetus for much-needed competition in the Spanish energy market. But the bid has upset many traditional links in politics, finance and business. By Maria Kielmas
The LMP supermodel
With Ferc’s standard market design (SMD) seeking a shift from zonal power pricing to nodal pricing, the concept of locational marginal pricing (LMP) has become a key policy issue. Henwood Energy’s Vikram Janardhan proposes 10 key modelling features to…
Carbon across Europe
Pan-European emissions trading is a step closer after agreement of an EU directive. Atle Christiansen and Kristian Tangen of Point Carbon look at the consequences
Tough talk on derivatives
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Ferc are getting tough in throwing fines around. Is this a ploy to avoid being lumbered with further over-the-counter regulatory responsibilities? Some market participants certainly think so. By Paul Lyon
Wanted: cash for new lines
Can Ferc’s standard market design encourage much-needed investment in the US power grid and develop a merchant model for transmission assets? By Kevin Foster
Speculate away
A new report argues that speculative trading in the crude oil markets contributes far less to volatility than its critics suggest. Kevin Foster looks at the arguments
A formula for high prices
The US chemical industry is crying foul over spiralling natural gas prices, but there are measures they can take to protect themselves, as Kevin Foster discovers
How to spot a VaR cheat
Traders can use weaknesses in VaR measurement to make it appear that they are not taking any risks. Brett Humphreys exposes how easily this can be done
Petrochemicals firms take a stand against oil price volatility
Many petrochemicals firms are seeking to reduce price volatility through hedging, given that the cost of crude oil is strongly influencing the price of petrochemical products. GlobalView Software looks at the figures behind the trend
Trading with a small ‘t’
What made headlines before is now becoming everyday news: energy companies are scaling back or leaving energy trading. Some industry observers are emphasising the shift to ‘trading around assets’. Anne Ku investigates just what this means
Credit watch
In this month’s analysis of energy firms’ credit quality via Riskmetrics’ CreditGrades tool, Williams and El Paso are among those with tighter spreads
The return of Russian crude
Russia has reclaimed its position as the world’s biggest oil producer for the first time in a decade – but uncertainty is still preventing some foreign oil firms from making the investments the country needs to fulfil its potential. Kevin Foster reports
Optimise this
One of the reactions to recent energy trading difficulties has been a shift away from speculative activities towards portfolio optimisation, but what does the term really mean, ask Tim Essaye and Brett Humphreys
Pumping up prices
Gasoline prices in the US hit all-time highs in March, and the price is expected to remain high throughout the summer. Kevin Foster looks at the contributing factors
Project risk: improving Monte Carlo value-at-risk
Cashflows from projects and other structured deals can be as complicated as we are willing to allow, but the complexities of Monte Carlo project modelling need not complicate value-at-risk calculation. Here, Andrew Klinger imports least-squares valuation…