Derivs - Credit

The Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe closed on Thursday at a record wide of 310 basis points, proof, if any was needed, that the E.U. has failed to address the root causes of the sovereign debt crisis.

Putting your rubber stamp to anything in politics can be the make or break in your career.

Markit has loosened the eligibility criteria for its iTraxx Europe Crossover index, a change that may see the number of names in the index return to 50 from 40.

BNP Paribas has tapped Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Robb McGregor to head high-yield and distressed credit sales for Europe in London, including cash and derivatives.

Nomura is considering launching a click ’n trade platform for structured products, an electronic interface that allows private banks and securities firms to input preferences for a structured product and get a price.

Regulators and industry officials should collaborate to create global identifiers for over-the-counter derivatives counterparties and an international product classification system, according to a consultative report by the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems and the Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions.

Law firm Clifford Chance has expanded its derivatives and structured finance practice in Australia, hiring a former professional away from HSBC.

Gleacher has announced that it is exiting the equities business and focusing on fixed income as part of its new strategic plan.

Thomas Hyer, global head of quantitative analytics at UBS, has left the firm.

Banks in Hong Kong are getting set to approve a swath of over-the-counter renminbi-denominated swaptions, according to lawyers active in the transactions.

Nomura will fill its recently vacated global head of rates sales position internally, moving Scott Friedländer, currently managing director and head of rates sales for Europe, the Middle East and Asia, from London to New York.

It was not supposed to be much of an event. Press coverage in the days ahead of the meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy indicated that there was little to no chance of a Eurobond issue or expansion of EFSF capabilities.