When Israel launched a missile strike on Iran’s nuclear programme on June 13, some traders were left puzzled by why the conflict hadn’t substantially moved markets. After US president Donald Trump’s first administration killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani on January 3, 2020, 10-year US Treasury yields dropped 9 basis points as investors rushed to […]
Amid the ongoing US-China trade war this year, Chinese exporters chose to hold steady on their hedge ratios, according to dealers, owing to high hedging costs and expectations of a stable spot rate. Exporters accumulate US dollars from foreign sales, and many have held on to those dollars in anticipation of continued strengthening against the
One of the last bastions of cash-only payments in the financial markets is showing signs of wavering. Global banks accepted $325 billion of non-cash variation margin (VM) at the end of 2024, according to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s latest margin survey – accounting for a record 31.6% of the roughly $1 trillion in total
BNP Paribas is planning to selectively expand its white-labelling programme to give more regional banks and their clients access to its spot foreign exchange execution algorithms. Earlier this month, BNP Paribas struck its first algo white label partnership with Lloyds, whereby corporate and financial institution clients of the UK bank can now use its three
Taiwanese life insurers are expected to increase foreign exchange hedging after recent tariff-driven market volatility led to losses on their US dollar-denominated assets. Despite fears that the Taiwan dollar’s recent rally might be more than a short-term fluctuation, high hedging costs have so far delayed action – even as a lack of domestic investment alternatives means
Macro investors are struggling to find good trades ahead of the July 9 deadline for the Trump administration’s 90-day tariff pause, choosing instead to focus on the ‘day-to-day’. Traders are having to navigate multiple discrete risk events, such as central bank, G7 and Nato meetings, before the tariff pause ends, and are unsure whether the
Dealers are seeing renewed hedge fund interest in the Hong Kong dollar carry trade due to the wide gap between Hong Kong and US rates, after many were stopped out on similar trades in early May. “Hedge funds [and] fast money [accounts], which reduced some of their long USDHKD position in early May during the
In April, after the markets chaos that followed ‘Liberation Day’, Mads Gosvig, who heads asset allocation at the UK’s Railpen pension fund, asked his team to assess the case for an emerging markets premium on US assets. Gosvig’s intention was to provoke discussion, he says. But the task reflected a genuine disquiet, matched at other
Foreign exchange structurers are seeing increased demand from US corporates for options-based hedges that can limit losses on their net investment hedges caused by the US dollar’s selloff. While the economic value of derivatives hedges offsets changes in foreign assets, when those positions hit maturity companies can face hefty mark-to-market payments. Bank structurers, though, say
Deutsche Bank is shifting gears on its proprietary foreign exchange trading platform, offering access to certain workflow elements via third-party platforms – as clients continue to migrate towards these venues. For years, banks have tried to divert FX traffic from the multi-dealer platforms by offering value-added services. But their efforts have not slowed down the
The deal contingent (DC) hedge market has been making a comeback, after President Trump’s chaotic tariff policies in April led to a sharp dropoff in public merger deal activity amid the widespread economic uncertainty. “The tariff discussions and news flow saw a lot of timelines pushed out, but I feel deals are coming back in
It takes a market-wide crisis to know how stable the underlying pipework is that supports it. In the $7.5 trillion foreign exchange market, the measure of its stability is liquidity. This was put to the test last month, as intraday volatility triggered by president Donald Trump’s tariff announcements on April 2 resulted in an explosion
Standard Chartered has hired John Newman as global head of rates and foreign exchange trading. Newman joined the UK bank last month and is based in London, according to his LinkedIn profile. A spokesperson for Standard Chartered confirmed the appointment. Newman joins after 24 years at UBS, where he held several global trading roles. Most
Artificial intelligence has increasingly become an all-encompassing term in financial circles. But in foreign exchange trading, what does it actually mean? Banks have been vocal about how they have used AI for years when developing their execution algorithms, making documentation easier, and in their client chatbots. But from a trading perspective, arguably the more impactful
Global trade tensions have turned the normally benign Hong Kong dollar into a treacherous currency to trade, with wild spot moves forcing hedge funds to unwind leveraged positions that were widely seen as relatively safe bets. “There were a lot of carry-type positions and people playing the range in that currency [HKD] that I think
When the New Taiwan dollar (TWD) surged unexpectedly on May 2 and 5, the country’s giant life insurers were immediately blamed for the move, given their huge size relative to the Taiwanese domestic market. Market participants, however, have mixed views on how active the insurers really were – but they agree the moves were exacerbated
European asset managers and pension funds are adding more currency hedges to their US equity portfolios following a breakdown of the so-called ‘dollar smile’. The greenback typically appreciates when US stocks are booming or under extreme stress. For foreign investors, the phenomenon – known as the dollar smile – offers a natural hedge against sharp
