December 2007/January 2008

Europe and the CNY – it’s good to talk?

19 December 2007
The appreciation in EUR/CNY appears to have become the bête noire for European policymakers. President Sarkozy of France has long complained about currency manipulation, amid concerns that European productivity gains are being eaten up by artificial EUR depreciation. In an effort to address some of these concerns, the European and Chinese central banks have agreed to set up a working group to discuss currency issues. The move is unlikely to prompt any swift decline in EUR/CNY, and indeed it is debatable whether the currency is the main problem for China-Eurozone trade relations.

What a difference a year makes

19 December 2007
Despite efforts by numerous commentators and industry specialists to talk up a degree of optimism in response to the recent and ongoing credit crunch, the US subprime fallout, rather than re-introducing some much needed “desirable normality”, as former Barclays CEO Martin Taylor told us in September, there now seems to be a gathering head of steam from what began as a little local difficulty in the financial markets, to a full-blown economic downturn. And with a direct influence on global liquidity in the offing, what likely impact might we expect this to exact on the currency markets going forward?

2008: READY FOR LIFT-OFF

19 December 2007
The launch of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) in January 2008 will fundamentally change the payments landscape in Europe for banks and corporates alike, reports Frances Maguire.After a year of preparation for the launch of SEPA, 2008 will be dominated by the go live date for the SEPA Credit Transfer, and the consolidation and centralisation of corporate payment operations that is expected to follow in order to fully reap the benefits of having a borderless payments infrastructure in Europe, more than six years after the launch of the euro.

France Telecom: A Corporate Treasury where communication is key

19 December 2007
France Telecom’s deputy treasurer, Raffi Basmadjian, talks to Frances Maguire about how the lack of standardisation is hindering efforts to centralise corporate treasury operations.Ranking as the 7th largest company in France with an annual revenue in 2006 topping €51.7bn and with more than 160 million customers worldwide, France Telecom is one of the world's leading telecommunications carriers and the third largest mobile phone operator in Europe.

Nigeria Focus

19 December 2007
Three years after the World Bank characterised and listed Nigeria as a fragile state, after lurching from one military coup to another – and now with an elected leadership – the challenges for the country are truly pressing. It’s all too easy to describe the socio-econmic state of Nigeria as standing at a crossroads; indeed, it has been said many times before. Yet, as the country hovers resolutely on the cusp of 21st century development, there still looms a distinct danger that it could just as easily remain languishing in its uneviable doledrums, tarnished with a reputation as the scam capital of the world. But there are signs of hope; just glimmers, true, but of late, Nigeria’s petroleum-based economy, for too long hamstrung by political instability, corruption and poor macroeconomic management, is undergoing substantial reforms by dint of the new civilian administration.

The Future – Now

19 December 2007
As online FX trading specialist Saxo Bank teams up with CitiGroup to launch CitiFX Pro, a new hybrid form of online foreign exchange trading platform, FX&MM speaks to Saxo’s Peter Klein – one of the architects behind the initiative.The two global leaders in their own fields of experience, expertise and formidable capabilities, Citi and Saxo, are embarked on a collaboration to provide FX trading for sophisticated individuals and smaller institutional traders alike. The new offering, called CitiFX Pro, enables the user full advantage of the world’s largest financial market with access to the same level of data and trading technology as institutional traders.

High–Frequency Trading in a Risk Conscious Environment

19 December 2007
A common concern about algorithmic trading is the increased exposure to risk, derived from delegating trading to an automated system. While this concern has substance, it assumes that such risks cannot be managed. Actually they can - often with the same technology that is used for the algorithmic trading. The technology that monitors market conditions and identifies patterns that warrant trading actions can also be used to monitor portfolios and continually appraise value-at risk to ensure breaches of risk thresholds are identified immediately. Corrective actions can be instantly taken, such as trading to take a position back to a more risk-neutral status.